JuicyJams Challenge: KatDoggie
by Miss-Nami-Shiawase
Summary: A challenge done by my good pal JuicyJams, posted one chapter at a time about my favorite couple of SPD: Kat Manx and Doggie Cruger. Please enjoy and review!-and don't expect these to go in any chronological order.
1. Desire

_Desire_

"Kat, how are the zords coming?" Doggie calls up to Kat.

"Hey, Doggie," Kat calls from inside the massive engine of Sky's SWAT flyer. She has kind of missed getting her hands dirty in the engineering field. Wiping some sweat from her brow she emerges. Her lither torso is clad in a black tank top with SPD on the front. Over her hips hang a pair of coveralls typical of engineering but too hot for the day. "Sky's was the last one, we should be all set to go."

"Excellent," Doggie nods, trying not to let his eyes linger on Kat's form too long. He has marginal success, though, and Kat pressing a cold soda can to the back of her neck isn't helping him at all. The SPD sits over her breasts in just such a way that he really should have a talk with himself about sexual harassment. The black fabric pulls where her tiny waist meets her womanly hips. Forcing himself from his haze of desire he clears his throat. "You've done excellent work on these zords, Kat. You should be very proud of yourself, and them."

"Thank you, sir," Kat lets out a slightly nervous laugh, not expecting such a compliment from the immovable Doggie Cruger.

"Thank you, Kat; you are the reason this base hasn't crumbled to the ground," Doggie notes casually, though there is still a heaviness that doesn't detract from the statement.

"Doggie," Kat shifts, feeling her face heat, and not from the exertion of her work. She looks down, trying to hide her blushing. "Want a drink?"

"Sure," he regrets the answer as soon as Kat bends over to fish one from the cooler. His eyes linger on her backside and he can't quite keep his thoughts straight. "I, um... "

"Did you say something?" Kat asks with a can of his favorite kind of cola in hand.

"I, uh..." Doggie finds his large, blue eyes glued to her form. "I'm sorry, what was that?"

"I asked if you said anything," Kat smiles, amused and confused by her distracted friend. Deciding it's nothing she stretches and lets her hands slide down her waist to her hips. She's a bit stiff from crawling around the SWAT flyer hood but she'll live. When Doggie growls lowly beside her she frowns. "What's wrong, Doggie?"

"Uh, Kat, are you aware that you are, um, a very...desirable woman?" Doggie raises what he has for eyebrows at her.

"Mm—I'm sorry?" Kat sputters on her lemonade. Her cheeks are unbearably hot, now, while her heart pounds loudly against her chest.

"I'm just saying, you're quite a distracting sight," he admits with a heavy sigh.

"I, uh, I'm sorry," Kat tries in befuddlement.

"Hey, Doctor Manx, I—whoa," one cadet comes rushing up with a chart and whistles when he sees Kat. His eyes go shamelessly to her breasts until Commander Cruger, next to her stands slowly, intimidating, fangs bared. The cadet tries to make up an excuse but just drops the charts and runs.

"See?" Doggie growls, resisting the urge to chase the young man down and chew him out.

"I had no idea," she mutters. Looking up at Doggie she smiles a little, "never took you for the jealous type."

"Like I said, it's your fault," he mutters as he sits again. "You underestimate your own attractiveness, Kat."

"I'll try to keep it in check, sir," she smiles discreetly into her can of lemonade.

"Not possible," he mutters into his can of cola.


	2. Invisible

_Invisible_

"Kat, where are you?" Z calls unsurely.

"Right next to Boom, to his right. I was experimenting with light reflection technology and managed to render myself invisible to the straight on view. If you come closer you should be able to see the light bouncing off the outline of my body," Kat's voice says from next to Boom.

"Oh, okay," Bridge squints, zigging and zagging towards Kat, catching the vague outline of her shoulders and hair. "That's cool, that you became invisible, and that you found out how to do it, and, uh, yeah."

"True, although I can't reverse it. The light reflection should wear off in a few hours, but until then, I'm stuck like this," Kat shrugs, though no one can tell.

"This is freaky, though, I mean, I have no idea where you are," Syd mumbles, feeling around blindly.

"I'm at two o'clock, Syd," Kat mentions and watches the blond turn; "that's nine o'clock."

"Right," Syd nods and sees a minor fluctuation of the wall behind Boom. "Oh, okay, I see how this works. What are you gonna do, though?"

"At the moment, I'm going to consult with the Commander. Since I can't see myself, I can't be in the lab. I could not see my own hand and cause a terrible incidence," Kat shakes her head, again, unseen. She walks out of the lab easily, straight to the Command Center, "Doggie?"

"Kat?" Doggie turns to blank air. His nose, however, tells him the sweet, cinnamon–scented Kat is indeed there. His ears can hear her heartbeat. "Where are you exactly."

"Here," she places a hand on his right shoulder. "I got the technology for light refraction up and running, but now I have to wait for it to wear off."

"So, you're invisible?" Cruger chuckles a bit, looking at the wavy air that is currently his old friend. "We should be glad it's not one of the cadets in this state."

"Tell me about it," Kat leaves his side and goes over to her usual console, typing in her personal code. She knows her systems well enough not to make typing mistakes, although when she reaches for her coffee mug she's unsuccessful. "Oh, damn it."

"What's wrong?" he sniffs his way over to her and rests beside her wavering form.

"I can't see myself, so I'm just," Kat attempts for the coffee mug again but knocks it over a bit. When Doggie catches it and holds it out she sighs, taking it. "Thank you; I can't see myself so it's a little harder to function."

Doggie watches the mug be raised to what he knows are actually delicately pink lips. The brownish liquid runs down until it disappears into her mouth. "Maybe you should just stay here with me until this has worn off. Rest, do some reading."

"Yes, sir," Kat chuckles. Managing to find her charts she sits herself to Doggie's immediate left and settles herself in. Everything seems in order, she thinks to herself as her eyes drift to Doggie.

He leans on his clasped paws, contemplative. His deep, soulful blue eyes seem dark, and burdened. As everyone around him works he seems entirely too deep in his own world of thoughts. Every once in a while he glances to his left, while invisi–Kat is working. One time, though, she's not working. She's staring at him. The chart remains open to the same page at which she first opened it. It sits limply, unheeded, on her lap. Blinking a few times, he sees her form slowly fade into his view. She's not entirely solid, but he can see her, transparently, like a ghost.

Kat stares at him shamelessly, unable to draw herself from it. Watching him in his seat of authority has a captivating effect on Kat. The deep blue of his scales catches the light in such a way that makes them glisten. She trails her eyes over his ears, down his snout, to his shoulders. In his position, his jacket pulls attractively against the muscles underneath; she knows just how impressive they are, too. She has seen him in Shadow Ranger form, she knows.

"Kat, how are you feeling?" he asks, eyes still forward.

"Good," she drawls, eyes drifting from his biceps to where she knows his abs are being hidden.

"Can I, uh, help you with anything?" he asks, now tilting his muzzle slightly.

"Nope," she muses, letting her eyes run over him again. As they get back up to his muzzle she sees his eyes boring into hers. He temperature skyrockets along with her pulse. "I'm visible again?"

"Very much so," he smiles at her humorously.

"Right," she mumbles, feeling properly mortified. "I'll just go hide in my lab for a while, and won't be seeing you for several days."

Cruger just chuckles at the adorability of his technician.


	3. Umbrella

_Umbrella_

"Enjoying the rain, Kat?"

Kat turns to Cruger, smiling. She stands in the middle of the SPD gardens, set up for some naturalization at the base. She has always liked it in here—kind of reminds her of her home, Felisa. "Hi, Doggie, what's up?"

"Nothing, but I thought I'd join you," Cruger comes up behind Kat and opens an umbrella, holding it above her head. "I don't want you to catch cold."

Kat smiles sweetly at her friend. As she turns her curls bounce, sending a few droplets away. "Thank you, Doggie. What are you doing here? You never come to the gardens."

"True, but I thought I should." Cruger looks at Kat tenderly. The real reason he came here is because he followed Kat. He knows she loves them and thought he should make more of an effort to see them. "I can see why you like it in here so much. It's calming."

"Mm, that is a concept with which you should familiarize yourself," she teases, going to sit on a bench under a tree, with the umbrella. He goes with her and wipes off her seat. "Such a gentleman, you are."

"I try," he notes dryly. Kat's gaze is turned out to the gardens in awe. He follows suit. They really are beautiful. "They are beautiful. What really brings you out here, though? All the time I've known you, I've never seen you just take a walk around base for no reason. You're too stubborn to stop working for any amount of time."

Kat smiles but knows he won't relent. "I just...I felt like I needed to see some beauty in the world. I mean, we spend every day fighting, dreading, living in fear of this threat that you and I both know is dangerous. It's just nice to come here when you want to be reminded that there are still things to look at in this world that aren't connected to fighting an eminent danger day in and day out. Here, a flower doesn't have to be for fighting the Troobians, it can just be a flower."

Doggie smiles at Kat, her words ringing within him. The simplicity of the idea is beautiful, and he is never surprised by the grace with which Kat manages to exist naturally. In action, thought, and words, she is always magisterial. "That is a nice idea, Kat."

"It never lasts too long, though. We still have to leave this paradise, go acknowledge the world and all its flaws," Kat sighs and picks a daisy, growing by the bench. "It's nice here, though, where you don't have to think about it too much. You can stop and smell the roses, pardon the pun."

Cruger lets himself have a small laugh, leaning over, into Kat's form. "That is nice. If that's why you come here why don't you come more often? I know more often than not you have a handle on everything, it's just a matter of you double, triple checking things."

Kat leans into him a little more and sighs. "It seems so frivolous, and I'm always thinking of how much more I should be doing when I'm here."

"Well, for now, please, don't." Cruger lays a paw over her hand without thinking. "Enjoy yourself, and the flowers, and be here just to be here. Here, you don't have to be Doctor Manx, combating the Troobians. Here, you can just be Kat."

Kat drops the umbrella to the ground and attacks his lips with hers, in a moment of blinding hot love. The umbrella falls softly to the grass, still collecting the pitter–patter of raindrops. When she backs off she bites her lip, afraid she has overstepped something. When he smiles and kisses her again, she throws reservation to the wind and whispers "I love you."

The umbrella sits, forgotten, on the ground. The daisy sits beside Kat, just being a daisy.


	4. Language

_Language_

Syd, Z and Bridge sit together at the main console of the Command Center, eating popcorn and sharing one jumbo soda. When Jack comes in he joins them. When Sky comes in he looks at them, confused. "What are you doing?"

Syd points at Commander Cruger and Kat, who have fallen into some kind of intense argument, or as Kat corrected them gruffly: "a critical debate".

Sky looks at them, seeing Kat's shoulders hunched, eyes defiant. Similarly, Cruger's arms are folded stubbornly, his muzzle held high. "What are they saying?"

"We have no idea, but I think they're speaking in their respective alien languages," Bridge comments, popping another kernel into his mouth. "This just started, like, twenty minutes ago."

"What could they be arguing over for that long, and in different languages?" Sky asks serious as ever, though he does sit down and join them in their movie snacks.

"Doggie, you cannot be serious," Kat hisses in her native, naturally hissy tongue. Her dialect of Felisian is particularly based on accented hissing, with interjected rowls.

"Kat, you have not taken a vacation in 33 years, and you will take this mandated time if I have to put you on the shuttle myself." Doggie uses a paw to illustrate his point in a chopping motion. His dialect of tongue is rough, and rumbles like thunder in deep barks.

"Whether I take a vacation or not is none of your business, and it certainly should not be a concern of yours where I go for it!" Kat comes close to stomping her foot childishly.

"Kat, a trip to the large hadron collider as a guest physician is not a vacation!" Doggie growls back down at her.

"If I want to work on my vacation time that's my issue," she frowns up at him. "Not everyone finds it relaxing to be surrounded by beach blondes making earsplitting shrieks on spring break. I don't like beaches, or crowds, or loud noises, or water!"

"Kat, if you please just listen to me and take a break," he softens now, still speaking Sirian. "You deserve a real break for yourself, Kat. When I say a real break I mean something that relaxes you, brings you absolute joy. I know you enjoyed being a guest physician but a vacation shouldn't involve anything academic or professional."

"Then what do you propose I do, Doggie?" she asks with a hand outstretched.

"Remember when we first arrived on Earth and did reconnaissance in Europe? I seem to remember you enjoyed yourself greatly in Italy—when we stayed in Venice for a week? Why not go back?" he asks softly. The tenderness in his eyes is a rare sight, and only ever intended for Kat.

"I don't know," Kat shrugs, also softening. "What would I do with myself for a week in Venice _alone_?—you know, it wouldn't kill you to take a vacation yourself, stubborn, old dog."

Surprisingly, Doggie seems to consider this seriously. He looks down at Kat, who has raised an eyebrow at his contemplation. "What if I were to join you?"

"Really?" she asks, trying not to sound too excited over the idea. "You would come on vacation...with me?"

"It could be fun," he concedes. He tilts his muzzle up again and lets out a growling kind of laugh. "Actually, I seem to remember a particularly alarmed looking gondolier who had never seen an alien before."

Kat shakes her head and blushes, "okay, then, I guess we're going on vacation _together_."

B–Squad looks on in pure confusion. The language made sense when they were arguing, but now, they have no idea what has just happened. Jack blinks, "what the hell?"


	5. Eraser

_Eraser_

Doggie watches intensely, cursing the world. His blood boils in envy as he watches Kat in all her alluring glory. She really has no idea the effect she has on people. Currently, his fangs are grinding his muzzle.

Damn that eraser.

Kat stands at her console, looking over quantum theory equations that could make Einstein cry. Her ears move as she goes over things in her head. Between her fangs sits the eraser on the end of her pencil. She chews it gently in thought. Sometimes her hands go to the keyboard, leaving the pencil to hang precariously between her glossy pink lips. They'll return, but the eraser will stay in her mouth. It catches the light, moist from her breath and the occasional brush from her tongue.

"Doggie, is there a problem?"

"Hm?" he blinks. "Sorry, what was that, Kat?"

"You've been zoned out for fifteen minutes, what's going on?" she blinks at him. She keeps fiddling with the eraser, rolling it between her teeth.

Doggie snaps. He goes over to her, wind blowing around the stature of his form. When he stands no more than a couple inches from Kat, who is not intimidated by him in the least (she doesn't even blink as he comes up in her face) he reaches out. He takes the pencil from her teeth, watching the eraser intently. Quickly enough, he tosses it over his shoulder and brings her lips to the lips of his muzzle. She seems recessive, as her tongue peeks out shyly. He takes it in his flatter, wider tongue, working it over the way a mixer folds dough.

Kat's ears rise to an angle that rivals Doggie's. Her face is flush and her heart beating wildly. The sensations being created by his tongue at the moment are so...invigorating! Her nerve endings create a lightning storm just under her skin. She moans into him, the sound melding into the deepest purring she has ever uttered.

Doggie takes this on as encouragement and lets his fangs graze her lips in a gentle scrape. She arches into him, telling him things are going well—_very_ well. When he senses a deprivation of oxygen in her – frankly, he can hold his breath for up to ten minutes – he pulls back. She's flushed from her clavicle to the tips of her ears, which still stand straight up. "I was tired of watching you nibble on that blasted eraser."

Kat smiles dreamily. As Doggie walks off, as he tends to do when faced with intense emotion, she just watches him happily. Had she known he would get this jealous over an eraser she would have started chewing her pencils long, long, _loooong_ ago.


	6. Credit

_Credit_

"Sophie, how is working in the big leagues?" Bridge asks enthusiastically.

"Good, thank you," the cyborg smiles at Bridge. "It's always interesting working there. Plus, I discovered something interesting about Doctor Manx, here."

"About Kat?—what?" Bridge asks.

"Well, apparently Doctor Manx was not only one of the engineers behind my software and cybernetic–neuro mechanics, she's also one of the IQs upon which my artificial intelligence is based."

"Really?" Bridge purses his lips, considering how plausible it all is. "I guess that makes sense. I knew Kat was smart, but to have a supercomputer modeled after her? That's really intense."

"Indeed," Cruger joins them seamlessly on their way to the Command Center. "Cadet, I see you've returned. How is your work coming?"

"Well, thank you, sir," Sophie nods happily. "We were just discussing Doctor Manx's involvement in my programming, sir."

"Yes, I heard," he nods. "I take it you had to pull up your own manufacturing information."

"Yes, sir," Sophie's tone changes, wondering how he knows this.

"I know because Kat refused to have her name on anything but the scientific reports. In terms of the names connected to your model, or the company, she's not listed. She's never been good at taking credit for herself, unless in a scientific respect," Cruger shakes his head.

"Kat's really, like, part of Sophie's brain, then?" Bridge asks, still trying to wrap his head around it.

"Kat's Felid brain is built in a completely different way than any other species'. You see, her hemispheres are fused by what is called the "fragmen discere", (literally the fragment to learn) also called the learning gland. This fusion of the creative and logical parts of the brain is channeled into the gland and superpowered. It's impossible to get an accurate reading by Earth standards, but by Felid standards her IQ is about 288, so on Earth...I think that's somewhere in the solid four hundreds. This made her an ideal candidate to be included in a compilation of hyper–intelligence."

Sophie isn't necessarily surprised, but still very impressed. She thinks back on how she tried to sneak around Doctor Manx to hijack her work and cringes, thinking how disrespectful that really was. "I had no idea until we were looking at my software for prototype models."

"True, Kat doesn't like people knowing she's had her hand in things if she can help it. She has actually helped design many things we have today. The technology we have on base, many galactic technologies in part distributed by Supreme Command Technics, and even some civilian technologies."

"Like what, sir?" Bridge tilts his head.

"You know the pistol pen?" Cruger smirks.

"The pen that reloads itself up to six times with a chamber that works like a pistol?" Bridge asks aloud before frowning. "Why did I say that out loud?—we all know what it is."

"Yes, well, Kat left that at the patent office about 45 years ago, during her second week on Earth. I remember quite well because she invented it while she was bored, and didn't want to copyright it until I forced her to. She's much more well off than you might think, too."

"Geez, Kat, full of surprises," Bridge ruffles his hair and shrugs at Sophie, who smiles.


	7. Disney

_Disney_

"Okay, what about Pocahontas?" Z asks Syd.

"Okay, Sky would be the serious one, no contest. DC would probably be John Smith, which would make Pocahontas Kat," Syd muses.

"True; okay...Lion King?" Z proposes another scenario.

"Cruger would totally be Mufasa, making Kat, Simba's mom... Sky would be Simba, I'd be Nala—"

"Hey, I'd ben a better Nala than you," Z corrects.

"I think you and Jack would be Timone and Pumba, actually. That, or Bridge and Boom could be them. You could be the scary girl hyena," Syd laughs as Z sticks her tongue out at her. "Okay, what about Aristocats?"

"I loved that movie!—Kat would be Duchess, you'd be Marie, Jack would be Berlioz and Bridge could be the chubby one!" Z smiles at the image of Bridge as a chubby kitten. "Oh, but then DC is nothing like O'Malley."

"Oh, yeah, but sometimes things have to be bent a little bit. Ooh—The Little Mermaid!" Syd jumps in her seat.

"Okay, that could work out. Bridge would be Flounder, Sky could be her dad – weird – and Jack could be Sebastian." Z considers.

"What are you guys doing?" Bridge asks as he comes in to find the girls sprawled behind RIC, watching classic Disney movies.

"We're imagining our own lives as Disney movies," says Syd.

"Oh, cool!" Bridge throws himself into a beanie chair behind them and leans forward. "Have you done Hercules yet? The girl's voice sounds a lot like Kat's, actually."

"Oh, yeah, you're right," Z furrows her brows at the realization.

"Are you just doing old movies, or more recent ones?" Bridge tilts his head.

"Nothing after 2012," says Syd, "the supposed end of the world."

"Idiots," Bridge shakes his head with Z. "I saw this animated movie, Brave, it could totally be applied to our lives."

"Oh, I saw that when I was really little!" Z declares and gets a nod from Syd. "Yeah, you're right; either Syd or I could be Merida."

"More likely you," Syd is willing to concede, "I'm not into that whole crawling around in the forest thing."

"Kat would totally be Queen Elinor, and DC could be King Fergus if you gave him happy pills," Z says, thinking hard about things. "You, Jack and Sky could be the triplets."

"I'd be the fun one," Bridge raises his hand.

"How can you tell them apart?" Syd frowns.

"Oh, back to Disney for a moment, what about Beauty and the Beast?" Syd's eyes turn starry at the imagining of it. "Just imagine, Commander Cruger as the gruff, beastly gentleman at heart, helping out the graceful and brilliant Kat!"

"That would be cute, but DC's not selfish or vain," Z tilts her head, followed by Bridge.

"Well, we decided that Oliver and Company would work well enough, and that broke a lot of rules. Boom would be Oliver, Kat would be Rita, DC would be Dodger, Sky would be Francis, Jack would be Tito, Bridge would be Einstein—"

"Hey, why am I the dumb one?" he asks, only to be shushed.


	8. Court

_Court_

"This Court Martial is to address the charge of fraternization between Commander Anubis Doggie Cruger and Doctor Katherine Manx," Sergeant Silverback addresses the room. Before him stand Cruger and Kat, looking downward. Behind them, B–Squad sits on edge. "Would the accused step forward?"

Kat and Doggie approach the bench, not looking at each other.

Silverback watches their hands hover, itching to find each other. He shakes his head. "What were you two thinking?"

"Sir, this is entirely my fault—"

"I was the one—"

"Quiet, both of you," Silverback hoots as the two try to drown each other's argument out. "Ooh—hoo—you, Doctor Manx, speak first."

"Sir, I am at fault for this. I take full responsibility for my blatant seduction of Commander Cruger." Kat offers herself up in sacrifice.

"Nonsense, I took advantage of my rank over Doctor Manx in abuse of my power," Cruger tries to speak over Kat.

"You realize a physical relationship between officers is entirely forbidden within the ranks of SPD," Silverback furrows his single brow.

"Yes, sir," the respond together.

"When did this start?" he asks.

Kat becomes quiet and looks vaguely like she's going to be ill. Seeing this distress in her, Cruger responds first. "Two months ago, sir."

"I see, and how did you begin this forbidden relationship?"

"The fall of Lord Omni," Kat says with difficulty, "sir."

"After the news of my late wife's certain death," Cruger confirms.

"I see, and the celebration brought this on," Silverback mumbles in an abrasive voice.

"Sir," Cruger says in neither denial nor confirmation.

"The penalty for this level of fraternization is severe, Commander, Doctor," Silverback looks between them both. "Depending on the extenuating circumstances, you could face anything between discharge from SPD to execution squad."

B–Squad shoots to their feet to protest but Silverback holds up a single hand to stop them. Jack and Sky look furious, the rest more scared than anything.

Kat swallows thickly and Cruger keeps his head high, though it's easy to see his raging emotions in his eyes.

"However," he begins loudly and everyone looks to him, "because Doctor Manx surrendered her active duty rank as Lieutenant Commander, she is not technically under your direct chain of command. You are her boss, which will incur penalty, but I'm afraid that is not under my authority...it is under yours."

"Sir?" Cruger asks, entirely confused now.

"All right, I'm gonna cut through all of this nonsense," Silverback hollers. "Cruger, you love this little lady?"

"Y–yes," Cruger says with trepidation, unsure of where his old friend is going with this. He had been confused as to why Silverback volunteered to be their court martial official in the first place.

"Miss Manx, you care for this stubborn, old dog?" Silverback points.

Kat can only nod, "yes, s–sir."

"Well, then, I have no problem with leaving you two be. I could go on about the impropriety of officers dating or whatever, but it just doesn't matter! You two love each other, and have loved each other since I remember meeting you almost sixty Earth years ago!" Silverback stands in his large chair and pounds his chest in a private moment. "I volunteered to be your court official because if Birdy did it, you'd be marching to the stockades! I, however, believe that only good can come of this. Therefor, so long as you promise to keep things out of the workplace, you are free to go."

Cruger listens to his friend's always militant speech pattern and smiles. "Thank you, my old friend, this means a lot to me."

"Well, pal, I can't deny the happiness I see in you both, now can I? You've lost your bite, Cruger, and the little lady," Silverback turns his knowing gaze to Kat, "well, you've got an announcement to make, don't you?"

Kat swallows again under his knowing eyes. "Yes, sir...I am six week weeks pregnant."

Cruger turns his head toward her slowly, "Kat, is this true?"

"I found out yesterday, but then the trial came up, and," Kat shakes her head painfully.

"Oh, Kat," Cruger sighs, wishing he could take her in his arms.

"Well, we're all adjourned here, and as far as Birdy is concerned, this is a nonissue! Now, comfort your woman, Cruger, and get outta my sight!" Silverback hoots in laughter to himself. He jumps off the chair and hobbles out of the room, past the astounded B–Squad. "Close your mouths, Cadets. SPD might be run by an overstuffed pelican, but we are a unification of loyalty. Always remember that."

"Sir, yes, sir!" the respond automatically. They wait until he's out of the room before turning back to their friends. Tears prick their eyes at the sight of Cruger whispering assurances to Kat, who cries silently into his chest, purring.


	9. Gold

_Gold_

"How about this one, sir?" a tired and slightly scared clerk asks.

Doggie growls down at the ring as if it has offended him personally. His normal, passive growl isn't as rough as this one. "This one is too...shiny."

"Sir?" the young man asks, but senses immediately that he shouldn't have. Clearing his throat to cover his faux–pas he continues, "perhaps we can narrow your search a bit, sir. What exactly are you looking for?"

"The perfect ring to convey to the woman I love that I have been in love with her for decades despite her not believing so in hopes that she might agree to spend the rest of her life by my side."

The clerk's blue eyes go wide at the long winded, run on sentence. He was surprised enough to see a large muzzled, blue dog in SPD uniform, but when the dog announced he was looking for an engagement ring, it was all the more surprising. "Okay...maybe you should look at our gold banded collection."

"Yes, she likes gold," Doggie mutters, all the more frustrated. The young man shifts slightly to his right and Doggie follows him. He knew he should have gotten help in this, but he wanted to keep it under wraps until he asked Kat himself.

The rings shimmer under the display case lights in an almost painfully dazzling display. The gold bands are new and spotless, reflecting everything around him. The different styles are sometimes minute in difference, sometimes noticeable in a more ostentatious way. The jewels also vary in size. Some of them house nice sized diamonds, others hold rocks the size of his eyeball.

"What is your girlfriend like, sir?—I mean, what do you think she would like here?"

Doggie blinks slowly as he considers that Kat has been called his "girlfriend" by ten other ring stores. The thing is that they're not exactly dating, but he likes the idea of "Kat is [his] girlfriend" too much to deny it. "She, uh...she's..._unique_ in the most wondrous sense of the word. She has curly brown hair with a glossy shine, bright green eyes – like those emeralds – and pale skin. She's an engineer, so she works a lot with her hands...um, I know she'd prefer something more subtle. Those ones, there—they're too big. Maybe something with the gems along the band of it... I just...I want to show her how special she really is, in general and to me. My love for her is all enduring, just as this ring must be."

The young man softens a bit, seeing the man/dog put such deep thought into his choice. He has worked here for years and seen a wide variety of douche bags come and go. This man is deep, though, and clearly devoted to the ring as not just a token, but a symbol of his love for her. "I think I might have just the thing for you."

Cruger watches the blonde man take out a simple, gold band. It is decorated with intricate designs, woven into a knot at the center, housing a single diamond, with an emerald in each point of the Celtic design. "Hmm, this is most interesting."

"This ring is a Celtic knot design with a single diamond of excellent clarity. The emeralds studded in the points of the trinity knot are of premium cut as well. The purpose of the knot is to signify an unending loop." The young salesman explains.

Cruger bends and examines it. It's small, light, and perfect. He smiles slowly.

The young man can't help but brighten at this news, feeling he has done a great service.

"It's...absolutely perfect," Doggie smirks, picking up the delicate trinket. He easily lays down ten thousand dollars, says "give yourself a tip, kid, for a job well done," and walks out.


	10. Music

_Music_

"Music to my ears," he will say.

She will stand at her private balcony, looking out the double french doors. Her violin will sit under her chin and her fingers will move seamlessly. The sound of the bow over the strings will pull through the air in a beautiful way. He will think about how she always makes him feel every stroke over the strings as if the bow were being dragged over his own heart.

Her form will lean and sway as she plays no song in particular. The notes will string together on the air and seem to swirl around her. Her hand will hold the bow with such poise he swears it would barely feel her sweet touch. Her fingers on the neck will be in perpetual graceful motion. It will create the most beautiful song and dance he has ever seen.

"Sentimental old dog," she will laugh before going into another tune.

This tune will be melodic, sweet and flowing, everything a love song should be. It will also hold the undertone of sadness he can't deny. It will make his heart lurch all the more with the movements of her bow. He will watch her arm move and feel his heart respond to her movements. He will hate to think that she could be sad in any way. As he watches her hips sway differently with this he will go over to her.

"Are you happy, Katherine?" he will whisper deeply.

She will relax into him naturally. His form will bring a natural comfort to her that she has never known otherwise. A smile will come across her face and suddenly the tune will not seem sad anymore. "With you, I am always happy."

He will say nothing in response, because he won't really have to. Her music will continue to float into his ears in the easiest flow of wondrous sound. He will say, "I love your music."

She will say nothing in response, but she lets her hands speak for her. In answer to him she will hold one sweet note, long and trembling with feeling. There will be a passion in it, but not in a forthcoming way. It will sit in the note and accumulate with the building sound. Then, in a second, she releases it in a swiping motion, dropping the note's tension and letting it fall down to a lower, shyer note. The contrast in sound and motion will draw their breaths from them. "Your happiness is music to my ears."

He will choose his words carefully. He will do nothing to startle her, or disrupt her harmonic movements. Instead of moving closer he will suffice for letting his shoulder graze hers. He will let out a slow breath. "I love you."

She will rip the bow off the final note. Its resonance will hang in the air, the sound like smoke wafting off the bow in her hand. She will take the violin from its place and hold it by her side, like the bow. Her breath will be strained, like she has been running. Her heart will thud in her chest similarly. She will still be smiling; "and I love you."

There will be no kiss, or desperate confession of feelings long held. Words will not be entirely necessary for them in this moment. He will smile at their reflections in the window. She will smile back.

The music will begin again.

She will go back to playing. It will be different from before. Her hips will circle in a happy motion. The notes she will play will have a different sound to them. Their edges will be sharper but with a light to them. Her fingers will jump positions as if the strings burn her deliciously.

He will return to their bed. He will sit and watch as she pours herself into her music. He will take in a satisfying breath and sigh, "music to my ears."


	11. Turkey

_Turkey_

Doggie's nose twitches a bit.

Kat notices: " Doggie, what is it?"

"Hm," he rumbles and lifts his muzzle.

"What is it, boy?" Kat snickers at her little joke. He growls at her and she smirks.

"I smell turkey," he says plainly, as an explanation in itself.

"You haven't looked at the calendar I programed into your console," Kat scolds lightly.

Doggie growls as he does and pulls up his fiberop screen. True enough, Kat programed it in for him. She marks important dates, meetings, deadlines, and Earth holidays. Apparently, today is Earth Thanksgiving in NewTech. "Oh, I see; what am I do about it, though?"

"Well, what are you thankful for?" Kat's question is soft, attention split between her work and her friend.

Doggie gazes at the back of his most trusted confidante. She works silently, in absolute calm. Her curls barely brush the base of her neck, revealing the tantalizingly milky flesh, dotted with speckles. They creep up around her hairline and extend into her cheeks. Her ears twitch occasionally, also speckled at the ends. He smiles a bit at the thought. He always called them freckles, but Kat told him that they couldn't really be considered freckles because they were so specifically arranged. He asked if they had a particular purpose and she said simply that Felid females are patterned while males have speckles all over the place. The patterning is supposedly for a mating...thing. He changed the subject at that point.

Kat just has this way about her. It's something intangible, but entirely real. She's graceful, elegant in everything she does, but not arrogant. Her confidence in herself and those around her creates this positively warm atmosphere in her presence. Her smiles, her eyes, they radiate friendliness, unless you deserve reproach, in which case you'll get slitted pupils and pearly fangs.

"You," Doggie says without hesitation.

"I beg your pardon?" Kat turns, thinking she has misheard him.

"I'm thankful for you, Katherine," he reiterates, his tone deep and gruff as normal. The heaviness in his words is not grave in a negative way, but solidly emotional.

Kat blushes at how he looks at her as he says it. His deeply blue eyes cut through her like the Shadow Sabre could cut through a leaf. Her breath catches in her throat but she swallows it down. "I–I, but—thank you, Doggie."'

"Good, now," he smooths over, sparing them both form a moment too emotionally intense for the Command Center. "Shall we go see if this turkey is worth all the fuss?"

"Mm," Kat hums and joins him, walking towards the main branch. As they walk, their hands brush a little bit. Kat is unable to keep herself from smiling as warmth and electricity spreads from the point of contact. "I'm thankful for you too, you know."

"Yes, I know," he smiles a bit, relishing their private moment. The soft skin of her hand brushes the scales of his paw, bringing warmth to his lukewarm Sirian blood. "For what do you think our Rangers are thankful?"

"Buttery toast, uPods, the color pink, regulations and vacation time," Kat answers easily.

"True, what are you thankful for besides me?" Doggie asks earnestly.

Kat thinks about it for a moment and slips her hand into his paw without thought. "The Rangers, SPD, the fact that we work together everyday...oh, and tuna salad sandwiches."

Doggie lets out a hearty laugh and squeezes her tiny hand in his paw.


	12. Unicorn

_Unicorn_

"A...unicorn?" Cruger tilts his head.

"Yep," Kat pats her creation on the head affectionately. "Syd's turning 18 and I thought she needed something special. She always told me how she had dreamed of having a unicorn when she was a little girl."

"This is truly amazing, Kat," Cruger notes as he leans his muzzle closer to the amalgamation of creatures. "A most wonderful gift, and an extraordinarily generous gesture."

"Yep, this is for Syd, and" Kat reaches to a terrarium and pulls out a hedgehog, "this is for Jack. Apparently he always wanted a hedgehog, so I bought this little guy from the pet store and souped him up."

"Souped him up?" Cruger leans in to sniff him but stops.

"Gave him the physical prowess of an army ant, the intelligence of a constrictor and the language capability of an orangutan." Kat scratches the creature under his chin.

"These are amazing gifts, Kat," Cruger notes not lightly. "I had no idea you were able to do this. What genetic strands did you use to make a unicorn?"

Kat goes back over the unicorn with Doggie and pats her on the head. She lets her fingers trail over the smooth, iridescent white of her horn. "I took an alien strand of the long horned Zanxian crab with the average Earth equine genetic strand—plus a little extinct Irish purebred for good measure. It was really quite simple, and I've been planning it since Syd told me months ago."

"Where is it going to live?" Cruger frowns a bit, a bit freaked out about how the unicorn looks at him.

"I thought about that," she nods to him. "By the old training halls, I found a perfect section that I asked Boom to convert into a stable for her. Plus, her body temperature isn't capable of fluctuating. I don't know why no one has ever done this before."

"Remember, Kat, not everyone has your natural talent for intellect," Doggie smiles.

Kat just smiles shyly at her old friend. "I can't believe our kids are turning 18. It seems like just yesterday when they were just 15 year old cadets barely in the field."

Doggie knows that while Kat is proud of their rangers, she is also often saddened as they grow up and spread their wings. Her natural, maternal gentility is one of her biggest weaknesses, and she loves their rangers like her own children. She never had her own kits—they're her kids. "You know, the legend of unicorns said that they were only visible to young maidens of the utmost virtue, as a symbol of purity. Perhaps you may take this as a moral of preservation, Katherine. I want you to remember that even as our kids get older and are no longer our rangers, they're still going to be your kids."

Kat blinks rapidly to dissipate her tears. She smiles sweetly and Doggie's beautiful words, which warm her heart and pierce her soul. "Thank you, Doggie, that's very sweet."

"I know their graduation is coming soon and," Doggie pauses, seeing the tangible sadness in her, "they'll be leaving us."

"They should be, though, really," Kat shrugs. "I mean, Sky will be attending Supreme Command's specialized CO Academy for three years. Jack and Ally are getting government funding to help the Landors Foundation. Bridge and Boom have patented Ric's upgrades into a super–pet for household sale. Z is our liaison as B–Squad sub Special Forces operative. Syd is becoming our Chief of Cadet training."

"It doesn't mean you're going to miss them any less," he smiles gently. "I'll miss them too, you know. We're a family, after all. However, you are their mother, Kat. You are the one who has watched over them and cared for them all these years. They're your kids, Kat, and don't ever forget that."

The unicorn whinnies a bit and nudges Kat's hand in comfort.

"Thanks, girl," Kat nods and pats her creation gently.

"Have you named her?" Doggie asks suddenly.

"I thought Syd would like to name her," Kat says suspiciously.

"I think it might be a little more fitting this way," Doggie raises a paw to the horned creature, surprised she doesn't flinch at him. Instead, she lets him comb through her flowing mane. "Would you like to be named Katherine?"

The unicorn rears a bit and whinnies happily in reply.

"See?" Doggie smiles at Kat, who looks conflicted but amused.

"Katherine the unicorn?" Kat raises an eyebrow, but Doggie and the creature both nod happily. "All right, then, I guess Syd's getting a unicorn named Katherine."


	13. Chair

_Chair_

"Do it."

"Do you have a death wish?" Z frowns at Jack.

"Do it," Syd nods again.

"He is going to eat you," Z reiterates seriously.

"Do it," Bridge also encourages.

"He will inhale your soul and use your bones for toothpicks," Z actually pokes Jack in the face as she says this, though it does nothing to deter him.

"I'm gonna do it," Jack says seriously. He approaches the chair with a hand out, as if reaching for the holy grail. When he gets too close a shock spooks him.

"What was that?" Z looks at Bridge.

Bridge waves a hand at the chair and sees a sparkling light around its form. "There's some kind of barrier around it."

"Cadets, what are you doing?"

Everyone jumps as Cruger presents himself from the doorway. "Oh, Commander Cruger, we were just... "

"Trying to sit in my chair?" he raises an eyebrow at them. They remain still as statues as he continues past them. "No one has the clearance to sit in my chair but me."

"Hey, Doggie," Kat greets as she breezes past them as well. "I just need to check something from your station."

B–Squad looks on suspiciously as Kat goes to Doggie's chair without hesitation. She sits herself in it and pulls up his fiberop screens. As she works they look flatly at Cruger, who shifts under their scrutiny. "It would seem Kat has the clearance to sit in your chair."

"Well, she designed this entire place, and yes, she does, are you surprised?" Cruger tries to push offense over his being caught. "Kat has the same security clearance as I do."

"So, why is she cleared for your personal work station?" Z raises a brow. "Has that chair seen more than work be done in it?"

"Out!" Cruger growls at them rather than corroborating anything.

"Run!" Jack takes off first, closely followed by the others.

"I don't know why they're so surprised," Kat murmurs from where she heard everything.

"Me neither," Doggie shrugs and goes to stand behind Kat at his station.

"That being said, you could have just told them that I had clearance for your chair," Kat smirks a little.

"If I had said that we'd get the third degree," he chuckles over her shoulder.

"Sure, but it looks all the more suspicious when you don't tell them things," she mumbles, still working. "If they only knew."

"They would never be able to look at this chair again," Doggie growls by her ear, giving it a little nip in jest as well. "Or, for that matter, the lounge couch, your lab chair, or that bottom stairwell."

Kat blushes scarlet at the memory of their more "public" love–making sessions. "That was a risky one."

"Worth it," he whispers with a smile.

"Entirely," she whispers back. "I'm done here."

Cruger doesn't hesitate to pull her to him and kiss her roughly.


	14. Lap

_Lap_

Have you ever seen something so shocking that you could no longer say words?

Jack stands motionless, ready to run as his instinct instructs. Next to him, Z's right eye twitches a little sporadically. Syd's jaw has just about reached the floor. Sky tries to remain serious but even he looks like someone has slapped him in the face with a fish. Bridge looks like this, but times a thousand.

"Evening, Cadets," Doggie speaks first, trying to break the air a bit.

Kat sits on his lap, frozen in motion as if it will shield her from their view. Her lips are red and swollen, precariously close to Doggie's. She looks appropriately caught in headlights, mortified in her suggestive position. His hips remain between her knees, her tail end sticking out and up as she leans into him. Part of her is mortified at the discovery, but another part is just annoyed at the interruption of her make out session.

Doggie is equally annoyed, if not, more so. His paws are still at the small of Kat's back (although they were on her tail side before). He is seated in his Commander's chair, Kat's body splayed over his, by his invitation. The lips of his muzzle are covered in Kat's beautifully peachy lipgloss. His tongue, previously attached to hers, tastes of her mint gum and her naturally sweet taste—it reminds him of honey, and if sunshine were a flavor.

They had been working on some mechanics when the other workers cleared out. Taking the opportunity, Doggie quickly asked for a "specialty consultation". This, of course, led to her seated on his lap, giving him a most invigorating demonstration of technique. He thoroughly enjoyed himself, that is, and judging by the sounds emitted by Kat, she did as well.

"May we help you with something?" Kat asks, sounding even more irritated than Doggie.

Z is the first to snap out of it and begins laughing. "Hey, Kat, I guess you guys are, uh, _busy_ working."

"Yeah, the Commander seems quite under the weather," Bridge also chuckles a little.

"Come on guys, Kat's just trying to get a leg up on things," Jack also laughs.

"Nothing like hands on work," Syd also giggles.

"Guys, knock it off," Sky says seriously before he also breaks out into a small chuckle, "Kat is trying to spend time with her favorite lap dog."

B–Squad breaks down into raucous laughter and guffawing. They fold into each other, unable to hold themselves up past their laughter. Even Sky holds his ribs in enjoyment. Bridge leans on him, doing the same. Z and Syd's heads are against each other, while Jack is on the floor.

"Enough!—out, now!" Cruger roars, pointing with one paw and still holding Kat with the other.

"No, no, he's right, we should leave them alone, before any bones get buried."

Another round of laughter at what can only be described as an unacceptable volume is heard throughout base. B–Squad totters off in their haze of amusement.

Kat buries her face in Doggie's chest as it takes on a hue of scarlet akin to Jack's ranger suit. "I'll never be able to look them in the eyes again."

"Oh, come now, Love," Doggie nuzzles her heated cheek with his cool, wet nose.

"This is so embarrassing," Kat grumbles but purrs into him.

"Do you want to stop?" he asks skeptically.

"No," Kat moans deeply and begins attacking his lips with hers again.

"Lap dog indeed," Doggie growls into her as she seats herself atop his lap again.


	15. Truth

_Truth_

"Kat, it has to be wrong," Doggie growls mostly to himself, seated heavily.

"I'm sorry, Doggie, but it is never wrong," Kat sighs, wishing she were wrong. "I wish it had made a mistake but it can't."

Doggie sighs and shakes his head. "I know, but I wish it could. I wish it could be wrong, just this once."

"I know," Kat moves closer and places her hand on his shoulder, tentatively, "me too."

Doggie places his paw over Kat's hand, in thanks for her support. "I just...I can't believe she's really gone."

"I'm so sorry," Kat squeezes his shoulder and pinches her face anxiously. She truly wishes she could tell him that the morpher was wrong and that Isinia could still be out there. However, she knows better than anyone that it actually cannot be wrong in judgement.

Doggie remains quiet for several moments. He lets it sink in with him. He has mused on it enough, but having Kat by his side as he does...it feels different than before. As if a physical wound were healing, he feels the tension in him begin to ease. "Thank you, Kat."

"For what?" she has to ask in genuine curiosity.

"For being here...for me," he looks up at her a little timidly.

"Doggie," Kat can't find the appropriate words for the moment so she just takes him into her arms and purrs quietly in affection. "I am happy to be here by your side."

Doggie enjoys the warmth Kat's contact offers him. He feels the rumbling of her purring go through her being and flush into his like a small vibration. It's quite cute. A smile comes to his face and he pulls back. When Kat tilts her head at him, moving her ears in correlation with her questioning he smiles more.

"What?" she frowns.

"You're just...so cute."

Kat does not expect this, and blushes at the unexpected compliment from her oldest, dearest friend, and boss. She tilts her head again, in further askance, shyly.

"I just," Doggie chuckles a little. "I will miss Isinia, but I have been without her for so many years. This is saddening news, but the closure it offers is liberating. It's like I can feel happiness again. You bring me happiness, Kat. In all these years, you have been my happiness."

"Doggie," Kat sighs and brings her head down, so she can nuzzle his snout gently, "I love you."

"I love you too," he smiles and nuzzles her back. It's funny, he thinks for a moment, considering she's his best friend. It makes sense, though, in another way. In all this time she has been by his side. Before B–Squad, he could firmly say that she was his best/only friend, and the only one he cared about enough to keep going. She became his reason for working, fighting, smiling. It makes sense to him, now. It makes sense that he has been in love with her. "I guess this is a little overdue."

"I would wait," Kat smiles against his cool scales, "as long as you needed me to."

"Really?" he wonders aloud.

"I wouldn't lie to you," she says deeply, whispering against his ear.

"No, I suppose you wouldn't," he growls in pleasure as she nuzzles a sweet spot behind his ear. The deep rumbling in his chest is nothing but pleased. "Oh, Kat, you're too good at that."

"True," she chuckles a little and continues her affectionate ministrations.


	16. Joy

_Joy_

"Congratulations, Missus Cruger," the nurse whispers as she hands the Felid woman a beautiful baby girl.

"Bastet," Kat whispers to her young one. The little Felid/Sirian wriggles in her mother's grasp, mewing gently. "My little pride and joy."

"She's," Doggie breathes through the tears welling in his eyes, "so beautiful."

"That's Daddy," Kat leans so Bastet may look at her father. The bright green eyes of the child find Doggie's and she giggles. "She knows it's you."

"Hello, little one," Doggie leans his snout to his daughter. She touches her own, humanoid nose to it timidly. When she recognizes the contact between her and her father she purrs. "She's purring."

"She's a daddy's girl already," Kat manages to laugh a little through her absolute exhaustion. She lets Doggie take Bastet from her arms and gives into sleep. "You'll be here."

"Of course," he answers the statement that wasn't a question. He looks back down at his newborn daughter. Gentility fills his being at the sight of her. Never did he imagine he could have a jewel as precious as this—as her.

Bastet lies at peace in the first sleep of her life. Her emerald eyes are closed softly and her ears sit limp by her head. Already she has tufts of chestnut fur, curly around the ends. Her skin is peachy, like Kat's, though her speckles are blue, like his scales. He can see the tiniest beginnings of fangs sticking out from her tiny lips. As her hand sneaks up by her face within the swaddle he can see she has baby claws, too.

"Precious little angel," he whispers to her. She looks so much like her mother already. When Kat announced her pregnancy he didn't know what to expect. Now, though, he has the most darling child he could ever imagine.

"Commander?" a soft whisper comes. Syd and Z soon poke their heads in. "May we come in, sir?"

"Please," he nods and watches them file in quietly. "I would like you all to meet Bastet Katherine Cruger."

"Hello," Syd comes close first. Her whisper is soft and high, tears in her eyes.

"She's beautiful," Z also whispers.

"Wow," the boys crowd around but don't come too close to touching her.

"Careful," Doggie warns them, "if the mother senses a strange presence she'll wake."

"What do you mean?" Z frowns.

Doggie gestures his eyes to the nurse who comes to check on Bastet. He lets her get about two inches from his daughter, with a patient smile on his face.

"May I—ah!" The nurse recoils as Kat springs to life, pupils slitted and claws bared. A soft hissing comes in her breath and a string of Felid words come from her, undoubtedly unpleasant in meaning. "Missus Cruger, I'm sorry to wake you."

Kat realizes the nurse has come for her child and calms her maternal instinct. Her ears fold back and her pupils become large again, "no, I'm sorry, please, go on."

Doggie spares the rangers a side glance and lets the nurse take Bastet for information. "Felid mothers are never unaware of what is happening around their child."

"That was so cool," Z chuckles quietly.

"My word was scary," Jack mutters beside her.

Kat sighs and lies herself back down. She yawns and rubs at her eyes. "Doggie, what's happening?"

"Our kids are here," he smiles.

"Oh, good," Kat's voice, laced with sleep, is dreamy and wistful. "You met Bastet?"

"She's just the cutest kitty in the whole wide world," Syd baby talks in a whisper, "I'm sorry, I really can't stop talking like this."

"She is adorable," Z agrees.

"Cool name," Jack nods bashfully, not entirely in on the whole baby thing.

"Bastet was an Egyptian goddess; a daughter of Ra and a woman with the head of a lion. She was a protective goddess who cared for people, represented by a cat," Katherine explains tiredly. "Doggie's name is also from Egyptian mythology."

"Doggie?" Bridge asks, though he gets numerous flat looks for it.

"Anubis," Kat smiles gently at him.

"Oh, cool," Bridge nods.

"Here we go," the nurse returns with Bastet but hesitates at the sight of Kat. She freezes briefly and hands her to her father instead. "Mister and...Doctor Cruger, please, take all the time you need."

"Thank you," Kat sighs, once again close to sleep. She looks at her daughter – something she never thought she'd get to do a few years ago – and smiles; "our pride and joy."

"Indeed," Cruger nuzzles his wife warmly. Her skin is warm and soft against his cool scales. She purrs into him gratefully in return. He leans so Kat can nuzzle Bastet, he purrs back in her sleep. He leans in his muzzle so he may gently nuzzle Bastet as well, making sure the cold, wet of his nose doesn't unsettle her.

"This is the cutest thing I've ever seen," Syd shakes her head fondly.

"Beautiful," Sky agrees, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah," Bridge and Z nod in unison.

"Kinda makes you feel less manly." Jack nods as well, still not in his element.

"Hey, can I come in?" Boom pokes his head in the doorway. He was with the rangers earlier but when he offered his hand to Kat in labor she crushed it and he fainted.

"Boom, I'd like you to meet Bastet," Doggie nods to his daughter.

"Wow," Boom chuckles nervously, quietly. He approaches cautiously, as if his very presence would break her. "She's so...small, and cute. She looks just like Kat!"

"Yes, I know," Doggie agrees fondly.

Boom reaches out a hand but hesitates, "should I...?"

"Go ahead," Doggie watches as Boom brushes a finger against the little one's cheek successfully, without waking her.

"Aw!" Boom coos a little too loudly.

Bastet's ears perk and she makes a sound of waking.

"Uh oh," Doggie manages to breathe before Kat is already up.

Katherine jumps at the unknown form that has woken her kit from her slumber. Again she hisses Felid words and bares her claws and fangs. In a moment, she realizes it's Boom who has woken her child, which is not necessarily a surprise. "Oh, Boom, I'm sorry—you must have seen the baby."

"Yup," Boom sighs from under Kat's feet. She basically squats on his chest, her claws in his shoulders. "Kat, you've already broken enough of my bones today...could you get off me?"


	17. Fury

_Fury_

"He has taken _KAT_?!"

The rangers, standing at attention, wince at the force of the statement. The Commander has shot up from his chair. "Yes, sir, the crook we fought earlier. Kat was with us for analysis and he seemed to have taken a liking to her. We theorize that he has Kat."

Cruger growls furiously. "This is unacceptable!"

A beeping comes in and a holo–message shows the crook from earlier. He is a rat–like hybrid man with the same hygienic appearance as Piggy. "Mm, hello, SPD and Commander Cruger. I believe you've discovered something of yours—"

"Where is Kat?!" Cruger roars at the man, jumping at the console as if he could actually attack him then and there.

"Gah!" the rat man falls over at the frightening image of Cruger's fanged maw in his face. "Let me finish! As I was saying, I have something of yours. I believe you know the lovely Katherine."

"Doggie?" Kat perks from where she sits tied to an ordinary chair with ordinary rope. "Don't worry, Doggie, I should be back soon. This...isn't really a problem."

"Hush, now, my lovely," the rat man scurries over to her and lays a clawed paw on her face. She recoils but he persists, "you'll be free of that dreadful blue thing soon enough. You shall live here with me, and I will treat you like a queen."

"This is disgusting—have you ever washed yourself, ever?!" Kat growls at him. "You smell like a latrine freshly used by Piggy."

"Release Katherine and I'll spare your life," Cruger growls ferociously.

"I don't think so. You see, she's been asking for you," the rat man frowns while Kat seems abashed in the background. "It seems I have your girl, but if you wish to fight me for her, you'll come to the downtown warehouse complex alone."

"Seriously," Kat drawls sarcastically in the background. "_You_ are going to _try_ and fight _Doggie Cruger_? You couldn't fight me—hell, you couldn't even fight my assistant, Boom, and he once lost against a cheese string snack."

"Katherine, darling, please!" the rat man squeaks, distressed at her undermining him.

"Don't call me darling," she deadpans.

"I'll be there," Doggie grumbles, mostly because there is literally no harm that could come from this. "You will bring Katherine, to assure me of her safety."

"Fair," the rat man nods and signs out.

"Sir, you can't be serious," Jack frowns.

"I mean, I know he's, like, a negative one hundred chance threat, but still," Z shrugs.

"How did Boom lose a fight against a cheese string?" Bridge remains befuddled.

"Never mind, I'm going." Doggie throws over his shoulder as he speeds to his destination. He arrives in no less than three minutes, wind rushing around him.

"There you are," the rat stands next to Katherine, who looks entirely bored. The rope around her wrists looks like thick string at its most, like twine at the least. "Well, Doggie Cruger, come for the beautiful Katherine—"

Doggie does the simplest action of shoving the rat's face to the ground. This seems to knock him out effectively and Cruger continues on to Kat as if nothing happened. "How do you keep getting yourself into these ridiculous messes?"

"I don't know," Kat drawls humorously as Doggie lets a single claw of his cut the binds.

"You could have handled this yourself, really," he chuckles.

"I felt kind of bad for him," Kat shrugs, "before he put his filthy paw on me, that is."

Doggie's eyes turn a darker blue, "he touched you?"

"Just that one time when he stroked my face," she shakes her head in annoyance. When she looks at him she sees the fury in him and smiles. "Don't worry, he didn't _really_ lay a paw on me."

"Regardless, he should have known better than to go anywhere near you," he growls. He hears the rat stirring so he kicks him in the face for good measure. "Shall we get some lunch?"

"Mm, I'd love a tuna melt," Kat smiles and nods. She joins Doggie in stepping over the rat's body as if it weren't there at all. "How about that place downtown—Montero's?"

"Sounds lovely," Doggie smiles as she takes his arm.

"The rangers seemed pretty startled at the fury in you," Kat smirks.

"What did they expect when they told me you had been taken?" he frowns.

Kat shrugs lightly. "I don't think they've ever seen you really mad before. You try so hard to keep your emotions from them, after all. It's a good thing they weren't there the time Birdie asked you if I had slept my way into my position."

"That is just vulgar for him to ask you that!" Cruger snarls to himself, "as your commanding officer and just in general!"

"Relax, Doggie," Kat pats his arm in a wifely way.


	18. Office

_Office_

"Did you know the rangers had no idea you have an office?" Kat asks as she walks into said office. It's practically as much her space as it is his.

"Where do they think I work?" Doggie frowns amidst paperwork. He doesn't look up as Kat comes in and seats herself down partly across, partly beside him.

"In the Command Center, I suppose. I mentioned that I was going to your office and they acted as if it were a mythical place," she shrugs. Easily enough she takes a sip of her coffee and starts on her own paperwork, feet up on the chair opposite her own.

"Well, they don't know much outside of what we show them, now do they?" Doggie spares a slight smile to himself and the papers in front of him.

"I suppose," Kat answers vaguely.

"They have no idea of what we do outside of work," he glances up now, "or who we are."

Kat also looks up, sharing a long, meaningful look with him. "I suppose."

"I don't think I'd want them knowing about the office anyway," he smiles brighter now. "Considering what's taken place in here, I think it's best it remain mythical to them."

Kat blushes appropriately at the reference and looks down shyly. Since their relationship began Doggie has been happier, more open, and certainly more teasing in habit. She likes the lightness in him, though his references to their love making, all in good humor, abash her. "If you're referring to our recent use for your desk they should also remain ignorant to my personal office, our officers' lounge, my room, your room, your training room and the showers."

"You forget that time on the outdoor training grounds," Doggie is downright cheeky in this bit, raising his eyebrows and smirking with his fangs.

"Doggie," Kat scolds lightly, resisting the urge to fan her warm cheeks. She never would have guessed he'd be the flirtatious one in their relationship but she finds it unfortunately seldom when she is not blushing or flustered in his presence.

"Isn't this what humans wish to do in offices, anyway?" he shrugs a bit.

"I suppose," she mumbles, still embarrassed at his openness of their amorous activities.

Doggie is equally surprised at how playful he is in their new relationship status. Still, he is pleased at the frivolity she brings out in him—it's freeing. He puts the utmost effort into flustering her because he finds her so adorable when she's flustered. Her cute blushing makes him want to nuzzle her endlessly just to hear her purring without cease. He has found himself to be quite the sap, really. Mushy, he becomes, in her presence, "Katherine?"

"Yes, Doggie?" she looks up, knowing that tone very, _very_ well.

"Would you like to," Doggie lets the gentility of euphemism speak for itself, though his eyes do take on a predatory shape.

"Doggie, really?" Kat tries to resist his charm, but his charisma is undeniable and honestly, she has no desire to resist him.

"Well, if you don't want to," Doggie leans back and pants to himself, arms crossed. He pants purposefully, although he doesn't really have to in this instance. He knows it's working when Katherine's eyes go to his tongue, pupils large and filled with desire; "problem?"

"You're a sneaky bastard," she inhales before launching herself at him over the desk. Papers fly about as their bodies find the desk surface, immediately glued to each other. Both their species are _affectionate_ breeds, and once one finds a mate, there's no stopping them.

"I'm going to need at bigger desk," Cruger growls into the nape of Kat's neck.


	19. Piano

_Piano_

"Bastet," Katherine addresses her daughter.

"Yes, mom?" the young, dark haired girl turns. She sits at her piano, making progress at a snail's pace. "I'm, uh, not having much success."

"I see," Kat smiles down at her young one. Bastet is the spitting image of her, save the blue speckles on her cheeks that reflect the color of Doggie's scales so well. That's typical of Felid's, though; girls look like their mother and boys look like their father. She sits herself down beside her daughter at the piano. "Is there a problem?"

Bastet lowers her ears in the presence of her well–spoken mother. Kat is by no means scary, but she has a kind of warm intimidation that comes naturally to her with her tall, elegant presence. "I can't get this one piece."

"Let me see," Kat places her hands an octave up and begins the song naturally. Her fingers move so fluidly you would think she had practiced it for some time. "I see, the pacing is faster than what you've seen prior, and this bridge has a different rhythm."

"Um, yeah," Bastet murmurs, pretending that she gets it, rather than what she has actually been doing: sitting there, staring at the sheet music, wishing to light it on fire with her mind.

"The key to playing any song, and especially an emotional piece like this, is to feel the music," Katherine speaks evenly and softly. "Every note you hear, that your fingers hit, must mean something. It resonates with you. The vibration goes through to your bones and comes out through your soul. The sounds bound together create a harmony that few can achieve. This harmony, whether soft, or powerful, must be flushed with your emotion. You as the player hold the key to releasing this great beauty, if you are able to feel it from its earliest stage. If you can play it from the simple form of notes on a page and make them spring to life in the air around you as music—_that_ is when you feel the music. That is when you_ know_ the song. If you cannot play the song from your heart, feeling it as easily as you feel happiness, you do not know it."

Bastet looks at her mother in wonder. She had no idea Kat could play the piano at all, no less hold this kind of intensity behind it. It was her mother's idea she start piano, but wouldn't say why. Her father can't play an instrument at all (to her knowledge, she has to say, now).

Kat spares her daughter the intensity of the moment and stands again. She wraps her cardigan tighter around herself and smiles, "try the song. I picked it because I knew you would like it. Let me know if you have any trouble, but you should be find once you learn to feel the music. Tell me when you _know_ it."

Bastet watches her mother walk out with graceful, even steps. As always, her mother seems no less than perfect. It's a point of envy, at which even seven year old Bastet finds herself envying her mother's natural beauty. Her father insists she is the spitting image of Katherine, but she thinks she has a long way to go to matching Katherine's...Katherine–ness; "okay."

"When I say try it, I mean try it, don't just sit there and pretend to be practicing while staring at the sheets. You can't light them on fire with your mind so practice." Her mother's voice comes in, strong, but distant, and comically well timed. "Practice, or I'll tell Uncle Sky to watch."

"Okay," Bastet calls and looks at the sheets closely.

"Unless you want me to get Uncle Bridge to tell you about the history of piano."

"I'm good, thanks!" Bastet calls back in a panic, taking the position and going through anything she can pull from memory, just so her mother will hear it. She loves her uncles and aunts, but Uncle Bridge once lectured her for two hours on the dynamics of paperclips.


	20. Animals

_Animals_

"You guys ever find it weird to think that Kat and the Commander are really a cat and a dog?" Bridge quirks his eyebrows conspirationally.

"What do you mean?" Z asks, the only one who looked up at the sentence.

"Well, if you think of normal cats and dogs, I mean, it's kind of weird. They don't fight like cats and dogs—well, not all the time, that is. Kat doesn't groom herself and the Commander doesn't do anything particularly canine except growl and bark," Bridge shrugs.

"I guess you're right," Z also contemplates, willing to humor her quirky friend.

"I mean, they are animals, right?" Bridge and Z trade glances until they hear a yowling kind of sound. "What was that?"

"I don't know," Z frowns. The two get up and head down the hall to investigate. More growling and yowling is heard. "I don't have a good feeling about this."

"That sounds like Kat," Bridge comments on a hissing kind of noise. "Do you think they're fighting?"

"I dunno," Z frowns, silently thinking of another possibility.

"Doggie," Kat's voice comes in a helpless whimper. A growl comes in response.

"That doesn't sound good," Bridge frowns. Cruger would never harm Kat, nor would she allow him to, but this is most alarming sounding. "Maybe they were sparring and he hurt her accidentally."

"Uh, Bridge," Z cringes.

"What if she's hurt?" Bridge is completely worried now.

"Bridge, no, I don't think—"

"Kat!" Bridge calls out to his honorary mother figure.

"Bridge, no, don't...!"

Bridge freezes in motion as he slides into view. Z runs into him, trying to stop him.

Doggie, with his back turned to them, braces himself against his personal console. His body shields Kat, who sits on the console. Her knees surround his hips, legs brushing his affectionately. The top buttons of her blouse are undone, revealing a black lace bra. Her bespeckled neck is covered in his love–nibble marks along her flesh. Her hair is mussed horribly and her lips are swollen attractively. Her hands have crept into the collar of his jacket, claws scraping against his scales. Both have surprised looks for all of a second before they dissolve into looks of absolute agitation. "Cadets, you never saw anything, this didn't happen, agreed?"

"Yes, sir," they respond automatically before rushing off.

"Animals indeed," Bridge whispers, trying to dispel the picture from his mind.

"You'd think they'd be more careful," Z shakes her head in panic.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Syd asks upon entry. When Z just shakes her head Syd looks up at Sky then back to them. "You guys saw Kat and the Commander, didn't you?"

"You too?!" Bridge blusters, at which Sky only nods and pats his buddy's shoulder.

"Wha...why...in the Command Center?!" Z groans.

"Yeah, it's happened to everyone at one point or another," Syd shrugs. "They're usually pretty careful, but every once in a while there'll be this incident, and someone is bound to catch them making out in a very public place."

"Or, if you accidentally walk into the senior officers' lounge, you see...much worse."

Everyone shudders a little bit.


	21. Glue

_Glue_

"Glue?" Z raises a single eyebrow.

"This is not funny," Kat grumbles, out of her usually patient humor.

"Cadet," Cruger growls. "We do not have time for this, if you would kindly fetch the antidote we need."

"Sure, sure, just tell me what it looks like." Z shrugs, still trying not to laugh.

"It's a green liquid in a vile no larger than your thumb. It should be on my desk, unless Boom moved it, as well as the glue," Kat scowls a bit now. "Just go, please, and hurry."

"Yeah, I'm on it," Z laughs a little on exit.

"This is ridiculous," Kat yowls. She feels her body jerk as Doggie crosses his arms.

Katherine has found a formula for flawless adhesive. However, in a moment of foolishness, she told Boom to hold it for just a moment. Now, she is sealed permanently to Doggie's side until Z returns with the antidote. Not that she's really complaining, but she could think of better ways to be attached to her best friend and superior officer. As it stands now, her left side/front is attached to his right side/front, making their ribs connect. The worst part is that she can feel her erratic heartbeat in her chest, which means he can feel it as well.

Do you know how hard it is to keep your feelings for your boss secret when you're sealed to his chest like peanut butter to jelly?

"So," Doggie begins awkwardly, trying to fill in the silence. "How are you?"

"Oh, good, thanks," she mutters back, "you?"

"Good, thank you." Doggie nods vaguely. "So, why were you making an adhesive?"

"I was bored," Kat shrugs helplessly against Doggie's (incredibly hard) chest.

"You're the only person who fabricates molecular creations while bored," Cruger chuckles, though his voice rings with pride.

"Well," she offers with lopsided shrug. "Why were you here, anyway?"

"Hm?" he looks down at her.

"I mean, what brought you down to the lab when this happened? What did you need?" asks Kat.

"Oh," Doggie seems hesitant and shifts a bit, "I was just coming to see you."

"What do you mean?" Kat asks, confused. He hasn't come to visit just for the sake of it in quite some time.

"Well, it struck me that we haven't spent much time with each other recently," Doggie looks down at his younger friend gently. "I've missed your company, Kat."

Kat melts visibly, "oh, Doggie, I've missed your company as well."

"We should make more of an effort to spend time together, I suppose. With the rangers around it's harder to find time," he shrugs and she nods.

"Indeed," she sighs, a little giddy inside from her (not so) minor crush boiling over.

"Here you go," Z announces upon reentry.

"Oh, thank you, Z," says Kat.

"Boom's hiding, terrified DC's gonna use him as a squeaky toy," Z chuckles. The solvent is immediately absorbed by the adhesive and steams. The steam dissolves the fluid and evaporates.

"Thank goodness," Kat and Doggie both mutter, stretching their locked bones.

"Yeah, wouldn't want you stuck together," Z mutters on her way out, "like you don't have eye sex all the time anyway."


	22. Cover

_Cover_

"Doggie!" Kat groans in the night.

He has no intention, of course, as he rolls over and takes her covers with him. It just so happens that the sheets get wrapped up in his musculature, and then when he rolls over they all go with him. Kat is left barren in these instances.

"Doggie!" Kat groans again but doesn't get any response. She is tucked into his side, purring. They usually start out wrapped up in each other, then Doggie will drift off and roll onto his back, like all Sirians would. Sometimes he twitches while he dreams—it's really cute. "Doggie, you took the covers again."

"Sorry," he mutters but entirely in his sleep.

Kat huffs and attempts to drag them from around him. They are around him tight, though, like a sausage casing around the meat. She doesn't even know how he manages to achieve this night after night. Shifting, she continues to try and pull them away from him, only to have him roll further away, taking all the coverage. "You're a stubborn, old dog, even in your sleep."

"Hm," he rumbles in neither concurrence nor disagreement.

Kat sighs and looks at him. His face is so peaceful in this state she can hardly believe it. His eyes have drifted shut softly and the limpness of his limbs is almost comical. Where the sheets bend around him she can see the moonlight of her window bouncing off his scales. His muscles are showcased quite well in this moment. She brushes the cheek of his muzzle and he finds it pleasant in his sleep, thus he leans into it. In return she purrs softly, knowing how hypnotic and soothing he won't admit to finding it.

"Sleep," he commands groggily.

"I'd love to, but someone has all the covers," she chuckles in her own nakedness.

Doggie rolls onto his back again and holds up his right arm.

Have you ever seen a kitten asleep on top of a puppy? Well, it's freaking adorable; Google image it.

Kat crawls onto his firmly muscles torso, enjoying the warmth of his smooth scales. She curls herself into her usual ball shaped sleeping position. Doggie's front moves with his breath, making Katherine go up and down in a mellow sort of rhythm. She nuzzles into his chest and purrs contentedly until she falls so deep into sleep her unconscious is numb to the world.

It isn't until the next morning when Katherine finds her mate has already left for work, leaving a note for her to sleep in. She is wrapped up in the covers in her ball shape, blissfully cocooned in warmth. When he returns that night to her – really their – bedroom she is already getting ready for bed. He joins her in the nightly routine but when he crawls into bed he's surprised. Instead of crawling in beside him Kat slithers on top of him again.

"I thought you wanted to keep me from hogging the covers," he chuckles, looking into her jungle of dark curls.

"Turns out I like this," she looks up at him upside down, grinning cutely, "you, more."

"Well, I'm glad to hear that," Doggie sprawls out his limbs comfortably, letting a yawn rumble through his chest and tear out his muzzle. Katherine giggles at the feeling of it against her bare back and nuzzles under his chin. She purrs gently and he immediately relaxes in every way, shape and form.

"Good night, cover hog," she yawns.

"Good night, Kat," he sighs and they both drift off.


	23. Bun

_Bun_

"Dinner's on the table and the bun is in the oven?"

"That is just wrong," Syd shakes her head at her crude friend, who only shrugs.

"The bun?" Kat squints in confusion.

"The bun is in the oven is sometimes how you refer to it," Syd cringes a little.

"That's...weird," Kat shakes her head, "and not helpful!"

"Kat, I don't know why you're freaking out so much! DC's gonna be thrilled you're having his little puppy–kitten–baby–alien...thing," Z trails off a bit; "what do you call it?"

"A baby?" Syd sends Z a 'duh' with her eyes.

"No, actually, it would be either a pup or a kit. If it's an equal mix of our genes it'll be a cub," Kat places a hand over her stomach in protective instinct. "I don't know—I don't think Doggie's ready for this."

"Yeah, we were not exactly ready for this either," Z raises a brow and gestures between herself and Syd. "How long did you say this was going on?"

"Since Doggie's firing/rehiring incident," Kat scratches behind her ear nervously.

"It took him getting fired for you two to hit the sack?" Z gives her best sassy eyebrow raise.

"We—I—no," Kat sputters but fails in defense. "After the incident we got through the discussion of...things...and...yeah."

"Mm, romantic," Z chuckles.

"Quit it!" Syd smacks Z upside the head, the way she does to Bridge, "it does work."

"Anyway," Kat interrupts her girls by sitting in between them. "Tell me how I do this. We haven't been serious—"

"Kat, you guys were serious about each other before you even started dating, or sleeping together, or whatever," Z waves around her face.

"You dope," Syd scoffs. "You and Jack need to hang out less."

"It's not from Jack," Z shakes her head, "it's from watching all the American Pie movies with Bridge."

"I hate those things," says Syd.

"Yeah, they're not great," Z shakes her head.

"Do I need to give you two drugs to help you focus on the matter at hand?" Kat groans. "Remember how I'm pregnant and have no idea of how to tell Doggie?"

"I liked my bun in the oven line," Z offers, only to get two equally dry looks. "No?—okay, we'll just leave that aside—"

"Outside," Syd corrects, "in the rain...to die."

"What would you say, then?" Z looks at Syd.

"I don't know," Syd's pitch raises in her defense, "my dad found out by finding my mom's pregnancy tests in the trash."

"That could work," Z offers again, still shot down, "no, it couldn't."

"You're still not being nearly as helpful as you think you are," Kat yowls.

"Just tell him!" Both girls burst.

"Tell me what?" Doggie arrives at the door, finding Kat, Syd and Z looking caught.

"The bun is in the oven!" the pink and yellow rangers pipe before running off.

"What?" Doggie looks to his mate, who shrugs sheepishly and also walks off.


	24. Snow

_Snow_

"Doggie, it's a blizzard out there!" Kat comes in grumpily, with a scarf and coat. She twitches like cats do, flicking her limbs and ears unhappily. Her curls hold a dusting of snow in them that make a kind of halo.

"They can come back inside when they learn that the coffee maker is not for them to have a spitting contest in." Doggie seems uninterested but actually watches Katherine with great amusement. When they first came to Earth he began to notice the similarities between Katherine's breed and the average Earth felines. It's quite cute, he thinks.

"Come on, it's freezing out there! I just gave them hot chocolate but I don't think it's going to help much. Sky's using his forcefields as plows and Z has her duplicates helping, but you realize it'll be impossible for them to clear the entire front of the building."

"I suppose," he sighs, not bothering to suppress his amusement in front of his friend. "Do you remember the first time we encountered snow in our early days of Earth?"

"Oh!" Kat lets out a loud laugh, "how could I forget? Neither of us had ever felt it before. That being said, you have the advantage of your scales and your super low body temperature."

"It seems to me you got particularly enraptured in the rolling of snowballs," he smirks.

"Sure, but I didn't compulsively dig through the snow to find where the grass had gone," Kat smirks back at him. She goes over to him, ears still flicking cold from them. "I can't believe how long ago that was."

"Our kids weren't even born yet," Doggie looks at her. The snow is beginning to melt in her hair but there are still discernable dots of white against the chestnut locks. A few are even lingering in her eyelashes. She looks radial, eyes twinkling with humor and lips smiling. He reaches out a paw, at which she doesn't flinch, and brushes some snow away.

"Oh, damn," she sighs and does so as well. She tries to play it cool when her hand brushes his paw, but she feels the way she did back in the academy when she had a crush. He leaves his paw atop her head and she looks at him curiously/shyly; "Doggie?"

Doggie leans in and kisses the crown of her head in affection. "I guess it's been awhile since we've properly had fun in each other's company."

"Well, you've always been such a party animal," she teases, smiling up at him. "I guess we've been pretty busy, lately."

"I suppose so," Doggie leans in closer to her face and lets his nose touch hers. He is proud of his Sirian traits – handsome as they are – but sometimes he finds his snout odd next to her cute, little, pale one. As she giggles and purrs, though, he makes a rumbling sound of pleasure. He holds her hands in his paws, not entirely sure when they got there in the first place.

"Seriously?!—we're out there bustin' our asses and you're in here snuggling?" Jack's jaw hangs low. He, like his team, is dressed to the nines in snow gear.

"Technically, I think it would be qualified as cuddling," Bridge points out.

"Nope, nose touch is a butterfly kiss," Syd corrects on the technicalities of affection.

"Yeah, but is it different because of DC's dog–ness?" Z asks beside her roommate.

"Does it matter?" Sky frowns in confusion as to why this is the question being asked.

"It doesn't," Kat and Cruger both say. They clear their throats; Cruger is visibly embarrassed and Kat is blushing hotly. He addresses them sharply: "rangers, I hope this teaches you that the coffee filter is not a spittoon!"

"Yes, sir," they grumble, shuffling off for hot showers and a well deserved rest.


	25. Box

_Box_

Kat stares at it with a vaguely horrified and anticipatory expression. She didn't mean to happen upon it. She was clearing out her night table drawers so Doggie could move into one of them. She rarely uses them anyway...perhaps that's why she has found this in the first place.

It is a tiny, blue box, shiny, with a white ribbon around it. She recognizes it, too; this box is what one gets from the only store in NewTech that carries specialty engagement sets. This box holds an engagement ring, almost undoubtedly. Plus, she x–rayed it and found the definable shape of a ring. It was a way to find if it was a bomb or not without spoiling the potential surprise.

Now, though, she has to find something to do with it. She can't pretend she hasn't found it, it's quite clear that she was going to. So...she tells Doggie?...she pretends she hasn't cleared the drawers yet?...she asks him about it directly?—GAH! The worst part is that she's paranoid about what has brought this on. Did he ask her to clear him a drawer so she would find the ring or did he forget it was in there? Is it even for her (this is a more farfetched question)?

"Kat?"

Kat jumps off her bed and sees Doggie with a small box of things in his arms. Mostly his own alarm clock (the alarm is a frequency just for his ears, like hers is made for her hearing), the Shadow morpher, and maybe some other personal affects. "Doggie, I was just, um, clearing out the drawers."

"Yes," he nods and comes in. "Find anything interesting?"

"Did I?"

Her question is so sudden Doggie looks at her. She seems anxious, fiddling with her claws. He smiles gently at her. "Well, Kat, do you think you found something?"

"I found...a box," she begins with trepidation. With one smooth movement she sweeps the box into her hand.

"Yes," he says again, still smiling. "Did you look inside the box?"

"I x–rayed it," she blurts out, cursing herself for her nerves."

"Well, then," Doggie takes the box and gets down on one knee, enjoying how a gasp sweeps out of Kat and forces her to sit on the bed. "Katherine, you are my other half, the one who completes me, and my true mate. If you would do me the honor of spending every day of the rest of our lives with me, I'd like to try and make you half as happy as you make me. If I am deserving of the honor of having you love me, I might be able to help you see how much more I love you."

"Doggie," Kat whispers, tears streaming.

"Katherine," Doggie opens the box, "will you marry me?"

The ring inside is gleaming white gold, knotting around a tasteful diamond in a Celtic trinity knot design, symbolizing eternity. It slips onto her finger and fits to it like a second skin. She sits crying silently.

"You need to actually answer me, Kat," he teases her as he touches his nose to hers.

Kat giggles a little and smiles down at him, "yes, I will marry you, my stubborn, old dog."

Doggie says nothing more but licks her cheeks free of her tears of joy. She purrs into him and he continues nuzzling her. His favorite sound in the world is her purring, not only because of how peaceful and comforting it is, but also because it means that she is content. He moves from nuzzling her to giving her a light kiss, then another. She returns each kiss with sweetness.

"Did she say yes?!" a muffled shout of Z comes, with murmurs from her teammates.

Doggie and Kat just chuckle to each other and continue their affection; B–Squad can wait.


	26. Perfume

_Perfume_

Doggie sniffs the air. Something has caught his attention. There is a special scent in the air, like a jasmine flower and a hint of a fruit, sweet, like peach. He loves peaches. It's intoxicating, but gentle, and soft, like airy silk. He follows it.

The scent trails to Kat's room, not surprising. She always smells wonderful. Sometimes it's just her natural scent: a gentle touch of rose mixed with fresh, mountain–y air. Her shampoo is ginger–honey kind of mix, and nice and subtle. The scent he follows now is perfume, which she doesn't usually wear. However, since he complimented her on it she has made a habit of wearing it fairly regularly. He has noticed this.

He knocks on the door, "Kat?"

"Yeah," he hears her rustling papers and assumes she's been working. When the door swishes open she stands in a camisole, a cardigan, and sweat pants. He remembers it's Friday evening and for once she agreed to take an early night. He smiles and she smiles back, "hey, Doggie, what's up?"

"How are you?" he asks and they move into the room in sync.

"Good, thanks, just doing a little paperwork," she shrugs. She pulls the cardigan around herself, shielding her taught tummy from view. "How are you? Done work?—I hope."

"Yes, actually," he smiles, "I was just on my way to my quarters when I noticed something."

"Hm?" she tilts her head at him and perks her ears.

"I noticed that delightful scent you've been wearing recently." Just as he thought she would, Kat blushes, probably from knowing that he has noticed her wearing it more and more. "Not that you need perfume, but I do love the way it compliments you."

Kat feels her cheeks become hot and looks at her lap. The first day she wore the fragrance it was because it was a gift and she felt she should put it to use. Doggie noticed and said he found it "enchanting". That might have been a large part of why she wears it almost every day now.

"You know, Kat, I feel we haven't spent enough time together, as of late," Doggie approaches Kat and places his paws on the arms of the chair in which she's curled up. She looks at him wide eyed, flushed ruby, lips pink and almost trembling.

"I agree," she swallows thickly, trying to breathe normally as his scent of musky alpha male overtakes her hormonal system completely. She knows her eyes have dilated.

"You look beautiful," he whispers only inches away from her lips.

"Sweats and a cardigan, Doggie, really?" she whispers back.

"You look good in everything," he captures her lips in a deliciously slow, sweet movement. She responds just as smoothly, placing a hand below his ear and purring quietly. Their lips move over each other in an innocent sign of affection, with just enough passion in it to relieve their tension. Feelings of years and years are released between their lips in static electricity.

"Oh," she purrs as he releases her and she continues to work through her haze of the kiss. She licks her lips, tasting his rustic flavor. Her cheeks are rosy and her eyes are sparkling with mirth. "What brought this on? I would have worn that perfume everyday if I knew about this."

"My restraint was in question as it was, my Darling, I wouldn't have needed the extra temptation," he kisses her again. As he takes his leave he chuckles, "the perfume is nice, dear, but you don't need it to be sweet.

Katherine, weak in the knees, makes a note to buy more of that scent by the crateful.


	27. Guidance

_Guidance_

"This isn't happening, Doggie," Kat huffs.

"Kat, I know you have perfect hand–eye coordination, perfect aim, and steady hands. There is no reason for you to not to get your certification," Doggie brings the huffing Kat into place.

"I'm not a field worker, Doggie," she groans again. Regardless, she gets her blaster ready, held in her right hand, over her left wrist. She switches hands several times before settling on her right. She, like all Felids, is ambidextrous, but she prefers her right hand.

"Now, remember the kickback," he tells her as he raises the targets. They hover holographically about the room.

"Got it," she mutters and hits the target with perfect ease. However, with every one, she's a little off the center. She frowns, knowing that she aimed correctly.

"I told you, the kickback," he steps toward her, "it'll throw your aim off. You're still almost perfect, but if you want the bull's eye, you need a better stance."

Kat feels her fur stand on end as Doggie moves around behind her. He fits himself to the back of her like her shadow (excuse the pun). His broader form radiates heat—at least she finds so. That's the explanation she goes with, at least, when her face becomes uncomfortably hot.

"Part your knees a little more," he nudges her heels with his paw.

Kat bites her lip as her legs widen ever so slightly.

"Arms higher up," he slides his paws down her lithe arms until he can guide her bare hands up to his satisfaction. This makes some curls brush her face, and he feels the compulsion to brush them away. His paw skims the velvety, speckled skin of her cheek. He notices it's a bit warm. "How's this?"

"Good," she says in a voice that's much higher than she expected/wanted it to be.

"Your head is a little tilted," he advises and tips her other cheek up a bit.

Kat swallows thickly, just short of making a cartoon–ish, expositional gulp.

"Straighten your back," he rumbles quietly. He places a paw at the dip of the small of her back. She reacts to it instantly and has to wrap his arm around to her front to keep her in place. His paw rests against her stomach, enjoying the sensation of her skin where her shirt has ridden up a little bit. He fixes the axis of her hips, looking fixated with the speckles on the arch of the bones.

Kat takes in a positively trembling breath and goes for the shots. She hits them dead on, despite the trembling in her core. Her hands are deceptively steady as she hits each bull's eye dead on. She clears her throat and steps away just a bit (not nearly as much as she planned). "Thanks for the, uh, help, D–Doggie. I'm just going to, um, yeah."

Doggie smells pheramones in the air as Kat skitters off, biting her lower lip and flushed crimson. "Kat, wait!"

"Yeah," Kat fidgets nervously with her hands in her back jeans pockets. It's off hours, they're the only ones up at this point.

"You forgot something," he speaks quickly as he sweeps her into his arms. Her fur stands on end again as she arches into him. His paws are around her curls and brushing her cheeks. Her hands are on his cheeks, her hips, plastered to him. He releases her and smiles, "how's this?"

"Oh," she shudders a bit, "my... Doggie, I think I need to return the favor and give you some _guidance_."

Doggie happily lets her tug him up to her room by the paw.


	28. Future

_Future_

"So, we're legit in 2060?" Z asks in wonder.

"Yup," Bridge nods. He and Boom worked out their own time portal, and this is the time to which they decided to jump in testing it.

"How do we know?" Syd asks. She looks around the lab, "the lab looks the same."

"May I help you?" a young woman comes in. She has wavy raven hair and eyes like the bluest/greenest ocean. She is wearing a lab coat, with black pants and heeled boots. The most definable feature of hers are the long ears sticking out from her mess of waves.

"Kat?" Jack squints. She looks like their Kat but she's younger looking, almost adolescent, and has a darker coloring than Katherine.

"You're looking for my mother, Katherine Manx," the young lady nods, "I'm her daughter: Doctor Bastet Cruger."

The rangers' eyebrows shoot to their hairlines in surprise.

"What?" she frowns at them.

"You're...the daughter of Kat and Doggie?" Bridge points vaguely until Z slaps his hand down. "Sorry—we're from 2025."

"That would explain the spike in my ranger energy detectors," Bastet smiles just the way her mother would, with the same pearly fangs.

"Wait, you don't know us at all?" Syd frowns, feeling hurt that Kat and Doggie's daughter has no recollection of them at all.

"Well, traveling within the timeline is fishy business, and the fact that you've come here means that you have to be in a paradoxal universe so that your time and mine are unaffected once you return. The quantum physics are a little hard to explain in lamens terms but you jumping from your own time means that you've disappeared from all subsequent times involving you. There can't be two you's in one universe," Bastet shrugs with smirk. "My mother would be better at explaining it. I've just started here recently, and my department isn't quantum physics or mechanics. She's 182 Earth years as of a few months ago. Dad's...well, Dad's way older."

"So, because we're here, it means we've been taken out of the past, thus the future," Sky talks through it.

"Pretty much," Bastet nods. "Otherwise I'm sure I'd know you. In this reality, though, you guys disappeared in 2025, which makes sense. Once you return to your own time this branch of reality will cease to be plausible." Bastet types out some things and lifts the console from the center of the room. "What's up in your time?"

"Well, your parents aren't even married yet, for starters," Jack chuckles.

"Oh, yeah, their anniversary is in, like, July—2030 I think," Bastet looks at the faces she's been shown for years and years. Her parents still miss them, and, in her opinion, never entirely recovered from their sudden disappearance. She was shown their photos and records to properly honor their heroism and memories. Her parents loved them like their own children. These people are known to her as would–be uncles and aunts. "You should really get back."

"Yeah, I guess," Bridge sighs. "I wish we knew more, though."

"I guess you could say things work out. The Troobians will be destroyed thanks to you, and I'm sure you'll meet me again." Bastet opens the wormhole generator and waves, "see you."

"See you soon," Bridge waves and smiles.

"Sooner than you think!" Bastet manages to shout just before they disappear.


	29. Baseball

_Baseball_

Kat stands with a baseball clutched in her right hand. Her hair is pulled into a slight bun, most of her curls blowing around her face regardless. She's clad in skinny jeans and a tank top, loose fitting on her tiny frame. It's rather attractive. She tosses the ball gently.

Doggie catches it with his right paw and tosses it back.

"Good," she nods and smiles, not at all condescendingly. When he asked if she would help him out with something while holding a baseball she was curious. The last fight with Grumm left his right arm weakened, and he feared it was affecting his saber use. The purpose of the baseball exercise is to help retrain his basic coordination, reflexes, and muscle mobility.

"Thank you for your help, Kat," he begins in his gruffy baritone.

"I'm always happy to help, you silly, old dog," she smiles at him genuinely. They continue to toss the ball back and forth in comfortable silence. She can see his arm stiffen, meaning it's seizing on the inside, and he drops the ball. In a second she's by his side, "Doggie, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Kat," he sighs. This has happened only a handful of times, and when it comes to Kat, she's been nothing short of overattentive. He flinches and she's got a full nerve work–up ready to go. His paw twitches a bit and he regains control of it as best he can.

"It's still happening?" she looks more than worried.

"Only a few times," he begins, "but more often lately."

"Doggie, please let Felix do a nerve test," she pleads, hands on his arm, looking up. His eyes are hesitant while hers are becoming glassy.

"I guess I don't want to admit it might have to come to that," he sighs/growls.

"I know, and I know we thought our troubles would be over completely. You almost gave your life to protect us," Kat's eyes are hard, jade green. "This isn't fair and I wish you would take more consideration for yourself."

"Kat," he begins but she is adamant. Sighing, he changes his approach. "Kat, this is a small price to pay for a safe world."

"You shouldn't be punished for protecting us," she all but spits venom off her tongue.

"Katherine," he asserts, placing his left paw over where her right one sits on his arm.

"Doggie, I love..." Kat pauses to lick her lips, "how you care for this world, so much, I just hate to see you suffer for it."

Doggie smiles at her lovingly and stays in position, holding her hand. "I love you, too."

Kat tells herself not to flinch, trying to remember if she said she loved him or something else. Her loving him consumes most of her thoughts. He looks so committed to the statement that she can only smile back. "So...you won't get a nerve test?"

"No need," he laughs at her typical, stubborn insistence. "I'll be fine."

"What if it gets worse?" she frowns, leaving one hand on his biceps and letting the other travel down to his paw. "What if you can't use the Shadow Saber anymore?"

"I should hope I wouldn't need it anymore. Besides, I'd like to enjoy the peace, settle down, use these paws for something other than war." Doggie enjoys the feeling of her hand in his paw and smiles wider. "Perhaps get married and have some pups."

"Hm, that could be nice," she grins, just as coy as he is, "with whom?"

"Not sure—any ideas?" he teases and she hits his rock hard chest lightly.

"Wanna toss the ball around some more?" she suggests.

"I have a better idea," is all he says as he leads her back to base by the hand.


	30. Castle

_Castle_

"Welcome to Castle Sapientia Producit Divinitatis," a booming voice addressed.

Knights Sky, Bridge and Jack stood by the King while Archers Sydney and Elizabeth stood by the Queen. They were positioned defensively in front of their wise monarchs. Also by the Queen sat Boom, her personal jester/inventor of the castle.

"Wisdom Produces Divinity," the guest bowed to the monarchs. "King and Queen Cruger, I am honored to present myself to you."

"Felix, the medicinal alchemist from the southern village," Queen Katherine stood with a heavenly grace to her. Her long, green dress clung to her feminine form before flowing out like a cloud, masking her steps that made it look like she was hovering. She smiled down at the shorter man, with whom she was vaguely familiar, given her own dalliance in the academic fields. "What brings you to SPD?"

"Milady," Felix bowed deeply and nervously, feeling his cheeks heat. The Queen was known far and wide as a martyr to all, and as beautiful as she was kind. Felix, if he were honest with himself, was quite bewitched by her. He came to SPD Castle to ask if he may be of service to them as a Castle healer. He moved to kiss her hand but heard a menacing growl.

"Now, now," Katherine chided her husband. He was a great war hero and King, and while most didn't exactly know his true name, he was addressed by the Queen as Anubis. "I swear, you're as petty and jealous as the dogs get when I feed the cats."

"There's a reason for that, Love," Anubis took his place by his wife and kissed her hand. He looked down on Felix with a poorly disguised expression of disdain. "What brings you here?"

"I wish to be of service, my King," Felix bowed in submission. "I am a decent healer, and could help your defenders of the kingdom."

"Our Cadets are very capable, thank you," Anubis growled again. He was known as the Wolf of the battlefield, and his odd connection to dogs.

"I would never suggest otherwise, Milord," Felix shrank further in fear.

"Down, Doggie, down," Katherine chided, completely at liberty to tease her husband like no one else would dare. She just giggled as he growled and their Cadets snickered quietly. "Felix could be of great benefit to us. I know his prowess in healing is great, and his knowledge in other fields is considerable. I've met with him before in academia."

Anubis considered his wife's words. She always knew best, he could concede, and her wisdom was the namesake of their fortress. Katherine's extensive expertise was amazing, moreover that a matriarch of her intelligence still held her kind of radiance. "Very well, he may stay."

Katherine smiled as her husband leaned closer in and warned her that if Felix looked at her beyond his boundaries that he would be fed to Anubis' dogs. "You're a sweet, old dog. Felix... "

"Felix...FELIX!"

Felix's head snaps up from his dozing sleep. He looks around to see Kat looking at him with concern while Commander Cruger stands behind her. "Oh, Kat, what...did I fall asleep?"

"Yeah, you should really take a break, Felix," Kat smiles at him and pats his shoulder. "Tell Boom to clean this up and take a rest; I'm going to discuss some things with Doggie."

Cruger nods at Felix with reservation as Kat joins him, placing a paw at her back.

Felix smacks his head on the table and groans. His first week of work and he's made an enemy out of his boss by looking at his coworker like the beautiful Felid she is.


	31. Drill

_Drill_

"No!"

"Kat, come down from there!"

"No!"

"Dammit, Katherine, don't be childish!"

B–Squad looks up suspiciously as a huge clattering is heard. They skitter from the lounge into Kat's lab, watching an odd scene take place. Commander Cruger is standing in the sunken in center of the lab, paws fisted on his hips in frustration. He looks up – way up – to where Kat is hunched on all fours atop a supplies cabinet. Her back is arched, claws bared and fangs showing in a hiss.

"Kat, this is ridiculous! Come down here; that is an order!" Cruger barks loudly.

Kat says nothing but hisses again, and lets her foot push a beaker off the top of the cabinet, falling relatively near him and shattering on the floor.

"This is not amusing, Miss Manx," Cruger growls in frustration.

"What's up?" Z asks, coming forward.

"Besides Kat," Bridge notes with a tilt of his head, though Jack elbows him.

"Kat has a—"

"Don't say it!" she shouts from above.

"_Dentist—_" he begins, earning a yowling sound from his companion, "appointment."

"That's all?" Syd tilts her brows worriedly. "I would have guessed she had to get rabies shots or something.

"Kat is not overly fond of dentistry," Cruger sighs.

"Those drills don't fit my fangs, Doggie, you know that!" Kat scowls.

"Well, we don't have fang fitted drills, Kat, and you last saw a dentist two decades ago!" Doggie turns back to Kat, who is still defiant. She is now seated with her legs over the edge, crossed defiantly like her arms. "Don't make me make you come down."

"I'd love to see you try that again," she laughs. "Remember last time?—I do believe it ended with you on your tail after trying to climb up here."

"Really?" Sky looks to his superior.

"It's true, I don't have her Felid dexterity. We had to get a tranquilizer dart in her scruff to get her down," Cruger growls lowly.

"Geez," Jack cringes.

"You're not trying that again!" Kat points clearly.

"No, I can't," Cruger checks the clock on the console and smiles, "but I have a plan."

"What are you," Kat swoons as a green vapor comes from the vent by her head. She blinks a few times before drooping over. Before she can hit the ground like a rock she lands in Doggie's arms as if she's a feather.

"Well, that's that," he says as if it's nothing, taking great care with the sleeping Felid in his arms. He adjusts her properly, prompting her to nuzzle into his chest and purr lightly.

"I did not think I would ever see that in my lifetime," Bridge mutters next to Z, who nods with pursed lips.

"That was a little freaky," Jack murmurs, while Sky and Syd nod as well.

"Not a word of this," Doggie says quietly, "she never remembers it after the fact."

Doggie continues to the dentistry center, carrying his precious cargo.


	32. Smile

_Smile_

"Have you guys noticed how much the Commander's been smiling, lately?" Bridge asks in casual conversation.

"What?" Sky squints slightly.

"No, he's right," Z points in concurrence with a mouthful of apple.

"I guess," Syd nods, thinking.

"What does it matter?" Jack shrugs.

"Oh, hey, Commander!" Z jumps up, completely unabashed to ask him. "We were just thinking that you've been smiling more lately."

"What of it?" Cruger asks with shifty eyes.

"It's nice—just wondering if there was a reason," she shrugs innocently.

Cruger frowns at his borderline impudent charge. He knows it's his own fault for growing soft on B–Squad. If there's any of them unafraid of him, it's Elizabeth. Sighing, he leans in a little, "it...it makes Kat smile more when I smile, so I've been making an effort... "

"Aw!" Syd choruses behind Z, eavesdropping blatantly. "That's so sweet, Commander!"

"Yes, well, thank you," he mutters, visibly embarrassed by it.

"Morning, guys," Kat strides in with a contented smile. She finds Doggie's eyes. He smiles at her. Her grin grows like the sunrise's light spreads over the crag of the horizon. Her eyes light up, positively sparkling at him, "morning, Doggie."

"Good morning, Kat," he smiles genuinely at her. He always loved her smile, and seeing how happy it makes her when he smiles, how could he not? "You seem well, Katherine, anything particularly pleasant happening?"

"Just in a good mood, I guess," she continues to beam at him like the sun, moon and stars. Her small shrug launches a bounce on the balls of her feet. "I'll see you later."

"Indeed," he takes an extra moment to wink at her, baring his fangs in a grin.

Kat giggles, much to her chagrin, and turns shy because of it. She tucks her bangs away from her eyes, giving him a coquettish smile before dashing off.

"You are one smooth operator, sir," Z smirks at him.

"Did you have any other questions you needed answering?" he asks gruffly, if nothing else, to cover up his own embarrassment at the interaction.

"Nope, I'll be on my way," the yellow ranger saunters off, entirely satisfied with herself. With intention, she goes straight to Kat's lab, where the doctor in question is humming to herself as she works. "Hey, Kat, what'cha doin'?"

"Hello, Z," Kat smiles, "just doing some routine maintenance work."

"Cool; you seem pretty happy, today," Z breaches the subject with as much subtlety she'll allow with her patience. "What's got you on cloud nine?"

"What do you mean?" Kat asks, the smile still having not left her face. "Can't a woman be happy just because?"

"Of course, especially if the man she loves starts making a feasible effort to smile at her more," Z smirks.

"I–if–if the what?" the older woman stumbles in her typing and blinks in surprise.

"You heard me," Elizabeth shrugs with no amount of innocence.

"I–I d–don't know, um, I don't think," Kat clears her throat, cursing that she's not better at hiding her being flustered. She can do pressure, but Doggie hinders her ability to think straight.

"Mm–hm," Z shrugs again and saunters out, "you keep on smilin', Kat; DC loves it."


	33. Ice

_Ice_

"Whoa!" Jack collides with Sky, who bumps into Syd, who flops into Bridge, who falls into Z. Once the entire team is assembled into one big pile, they groan. "Why are we here again?"

"Reconnaissance is an important part of your duties, and you'll need to learn to adapt to different environments." Kat explains as she steps out of the ship behind them. She is eerily steady on her feet, walking with the same even strides as she always does.

"How can you wear freakin' heels?" Z asks as she tries to steady herself.

"I have a natural advantage over your equilibriums," Kat shrugs, as if her explanation will suffice.

"What is this place, anyway?" Bridge asks, standing up with the same unease as Z.

"Sirius," Commander Cruger says as he steps out of the craft also. His claws dig into the ice forcefully and his back is as rigid as ever.

Everyone turns to him seriously, searching his face for angst or pain. They find nothing but a blank slate, so they turn back to the barren wasteland before them. "What do you need us to do, sir?"

"We're tracking whatever lies under all this ice. You are the first team chosen for this mission, B–Squad; do not disappoint," he growls profoundly but not with anger.

"Sir!" they chorus and turn crisply. Of course, this knocks them off their feet and they collapse in a pile like puppies once again.

Cruger just sighs but says nothing as they attempt to pick themselves up. He doesn't squint against the harsh winds or betray emotion at all. He does, however, sense the questions burning his partner's tongue. "What are you thinking, Katherine?"

"Does it bother you," she asks, "to see it like this?"

"No more than it should," he admits with the detached rigidity of a true soldier.

"You chose them for this anyway," she leads in for him to elaborate, still looking ahead.

He looks straight ahead as well as he answers, "I wouldn't want anyone else on the job."

"What are we really here for?" she asks so quietly he only hears the words as they're carried to his ears on the wind.

"Just to say goodbye, really. They can look for anything, but chances are there's nothing to find. It was mostly...mostly just to see it one last time before it's excavated for the colonies. They're going to call it New Sirius, but—"

"That won't make it home," Kat agrees. The biting wind continues to whip around her, biting at her cheeks and streaming through her curls. Her hands are in the pockets of her coat, blowing around her legs. She lets out a sigh, both sarcastic and sad, "happy anniversary."

"And to you," he rumbles in return. Exactly fifty years ago their homes were destroyed.

"Will you ever tell them?" Kat looks toward her kids, working in ignorant bliss.

"When they're ready," he says as if they're still children, which to her, they kind of are.

"Are you ready?" she turns to him now. He turns back; "to say goodbye?"

"I suppose so," he blinks slowly. "I have a home on Earth that seems to suffice."

Kat smiles in satisfaction, glad Doggie won't be dwelling on their past, "I agree."

"I found something!" Bridge declares over the wind. "No, wait, that's my foot—sorry!"

Kat and Doggie chuckle in turn. Their kids groan and continue trudging about. Bridge shrugs and Z laughs openly. Jack and Sky also chuckle while Syd sighs: "I wanna go home."

"I agree," Doggie smiles down at Kat, who smiles back and leans on him, purring.


	34. Hair

_Hair_

"Kat, how does your hair do that?"

"What?" she looks up from her work.

"That," Cruger holds up a finger and swirls it in the air.

Kat flicks a ringlet sitting by her cheek, to which he nods. "You mean how is my hair curled?"

"Yes," he nods. "Cadet Drew's is curled as well but yours is... different."

"Well, I don't know how Syd curls her hair but I have a curler, plus, it's kind of curly naturally," Kat explains smoothly. When Doggie still seems baffled she realizes his fur would grow entirely differently than her more humanoid hair.

"So, do you have to do something to make it do that, or no?" Doggie walks over to Kat, still bemused by the glossy spirals. The ends brush the back of her neck, covering the patterned speckles he knows are there anyway. Their shapes, the way they bend and flow; it fascinates him.

"Yeah, I curl it," Kat's tone turns suspicious as Doggie circles her, inspecting her hair closely. "Doggie, what is this about?"

"I just find it intriguing is all," he shrugs as if that would suffice as an explanation.

"Okay," Kat drawls, still very aware of his inspection of her. "Doggie, I'm starting to feel like your prey."

Doggie chuckles and smiles. "Simply admiring you, Katherine."

"I see," she chuckles as well. As she continues to type she feels him looming behind her. His breath tickles the back of her neck.

"I've always wanted to wash it," he blurts casually.

"Of all the showers we've taken together, you've never said this to me," she replies.

"It never occurred to me to ask, we were always busy," he chuckles.

"Very funny," she turns to hide what he's sure are flushed red cheeks.

"Um, guys," a voice comes from the doorway.

Bridge and Z stand next to each other, shifting nervously. Bridge's hand is held in the air as he fidgets with the other one. "So, yeah, we've been here, for, like, ten minutes."

"Did you need something?" asks Kat.

"Uh," Z looks between her two superiors and clears her throat, "I forget, so...no."

"Okay, well, if you remember," Kat smiles.

"Right," Bridge and Z both wander off slowly.

"That was odd," Doggie tilts his muzzle. "Are they all right?"

"I'd think so," Kat muses, "though it was probably pretty alarming to hear what they heard."

"They'd think teammates don't have to shower together in the academy," Doggie shakes his head.

"There are also the hazmatt showers we've had to share thanks to the lab explosions of 2020," the Felid rolls her eyes.

"The year Boom started as your assistant," Doggie remembers in both a fond and exasperated tone.

"That was a dangerous year," Kat cringes.

"What could they possibly have thought we were talking about?" Doggie asks.

"Nothing," Kat mutters in avoidance.


	35. Security

_Security_

"What's up with RIC?" Z asks Bridge.

"I don't know," Bridge seems befuddled, as the one who usually knows what's up with the canine robo–companion.

The machine in question paces the floor in front of the doorway, impatiently, as if his time is being taken up horribly by whomever is not there yet.

"What's wrong, boy?" Z asks as she pets the cool, rigid edges of their pal.

"He's on an alert mode, but I don't recognize the coding,"Bridge mutters.

"Doggie, it's not necessary!"

"I think I have a clue," Z gets out before they jump away from the door. In come Kat and Commander Cruger, followed closely by RIC.

"Kat, I want you to be careful, but because you never are I have RIC here as a backup," Doggie sighs.

"Anubis, I do not need a robotic guard dog following my every move," Kat crosses her arms and cocks her hip. When RIC tilts his head she smiles, "no offense, boy."

"Katherine, I want you to be properly protected," Doggie presses, leaning in a little closer. "You mean too much to me to be put in danger, Kat. I need to be able to protect you."

"Doggie, I will be fine," she whispers, easily matching his proximity (no matter how invigorating and dizzying it is). "You are such a worrywart about me. You're too protective for your own good."

"I have never been too protective of you," he protests.

"Besides, what if I just deprogram RIC?" she smirks.

"You can't, I made Boom make sure of it," Doggie stands to his full height and crosses his arms in victory. He can see Kat trying to find a loophole, searching desperately.

"Seriously?—I have a guard dog?" she looks at him with big, green eyes.

"Yes," he blinks.

"Well, if I need a guard dog, does it have to be RIC?" she pouts a little.

"Where are you going with this, Kat?" Cruger frowns.

"What if you were my guard dog?" she asks oh–so innocently.

"Katherine," Doggie begins but he's already drowned in the green of her irises, "fine."

"Good boy!" she laughs heartily at his displeasure. "Now, heel, I have to go downtown."

"This is not what I had in mind, Kat," Doggie growls, though he follows her nonetheless.

"I am well aware of that, now, who's a good boy?" Kat is only encouraged by the genuinely scary sounding growl he emits. "Aw, do you want a treat?"

"Let's be off, Doctor Manx," Doggie growls, holding out a paw.

"Okay, Doggie, lets go for a walk," Kat all but skips out with Doggie following obediently. It's a weird sight. "Do you have your collar on?"

"Enough, Katherine!" he barks.

"Bad dog!" Kat swats his nose and he becomes comically silent.

"Okay," Z leans back with Bridge, who both stroke their invisible beards. "That might be one of the oddest things I've ever seen. Of all the things we've witnessed...this—this is up there."

"Yes, yes, it is," Bridge agrees as he makes the transition from sitting to head standing.

Z is further intrigued by something else: "DC has a collar?"

Bridge falls over in surprise.


End file.
